Second Time's The Charm
by Reader06
Summary: Tobirama knew bringing back the dead was possible. He knew that anything was possible in the ninja world. That didn't mean, however, that he ever believed in reincarnation. But here he was, with a new family and a ragtag group of friends, in a village he barely recognized, facing the same demons as before. Would he ever find some peace and quiet?
1. Prologue

Gray.

Gray was all he could see.

Really... all this gray was quite annoying.

But.

Why was he seeing gray to begin with?

The last thing he remembered…

The last thing he remembered… was dying?

Was this the afterlife? Was there an afterlife?

There has to be something because he is creating -mostly- coherent thoughts.

Wait. It feels like he's moving.

It's getting lighter.

And colder.

And noisier. Like a ringing?

No.

A scream.

Screaming from a woman. Screaming was never a good thing in his experience, so he braced himself. He couldn't move or talk, but he could atleast prepare himself mentally for what was to come.

He could feel himself being moved – held by a person? No, it felt like his whole body was being enclosed by these "arms". A normal person could never be so large to hold a grown man in such a way. Unless they were of the Akimichi Clan, but that made zero sense-

"-isn't crying? Why isn't- crying?!" A woman screamed in hysteria. It was odd. She was so loud, and yet, he couldn't understand everything she said. Perhaps it was because she was hysterical?

"-rub- check- air way!" "Nothing- monitor is showing-" "Doctor!" Now there are too many talking! He couldn't understand anyone and it was giving him a headache trying to listen so hard. The woman is still screaming and now he is being toss around! And… something else is crying. What is that noise?

"-shhh. –ru. It's ok- shh." He heard from a man. He sounded so calm. Probably the only sane person in this room… If he is in a room. All he can see are blotches of gray. They look like figures, but- Someone just crammed some fingers down his throat! That is not ok!

"Wahhhhhh!" He cried, letting as much noise and air out as possible.

"-crying! My baby's crying-" She was still screaming, but this sounded happy this time. What kind of messed up lady takes joy in another person's suffer-.

.

.

.

Did she just say baby?


	2. Chapter 1

I am a grown man. I am. A grown. Man.

I grew up in some of the harshes conditions. Raised by war and harden by the deaths of my family and clansmen. I prided myself in my innovation and knowledge. I formed my life around structure and rules. My enemies shook at the mention of my name and my clan's name. I had created countless jutsus and worked tirelessly to further the survival of my clan and its future children. I may have not had the vision, the plan for a brighter future. I was never much of an optimist; I couldn't afford to be. However, I was the one that created the structure. Provided the realty for each situation and never allowed us to be over generous in our negotiations. I kept his vision from being our undoing, while being true to his ideals, hopes, dreams. Dreams we all shared. A dream where no child would have to die in order for others to survive.

But. Here I was.

In a crib.

Staring at a maggot.

A screaming maggot.

I was a man. A **grown** man. A fearsome man. Who remembers dying.

Now. I am the other screaming maggot.

I do feel a small amount of pity to the parents. Having two screaming kids, twins, has to be rough. Not that I was going to make the situation any easier on them. So I'm being immature. What are you going to do? Turn me into a baby? Tough shit, someone else beat you to it.

"-hhhh. Please be quiet for Tou-san. Your Kaa-san needs her sleep."

That would be the father. He was extremely tall, though it's hard to tell when you are as small as I am. He had very dark brown hair, almost black, and a goatee. His eyes always seemed tired, like he never got enough sleep. Although, that may be my fault. I tend to start these crying fits.

I watch him as he picks up the other one. The other baby. A baby boy. I watch as he cradles him in his arms, moving back and forth in a soothing manner. The boy hiccups and starts to drift asleep again. I have long stopped crying, as I have no intention of being picked up and treated like a baby… The whole point was to get the infant to start crying, so the parents woke up. If I was awake, so would they.

Ok. Maybe I should be treated like a baby. Clearly, I lost all my maturity in this… transition.

As the man puts his little boy back in the crib, he reaches a hand out to me, rubbing my stomach. If I could move…

"-both of you." He says smiling at me. Not that I have any idea what he said.

He just sits there for a while longer, just watching us. Watching me. Ah, he's waiting for me to fall asleep. Well he is going to be here all night because if he thinks I am going to fall asleep in some foreign environment, in this cage of a body, he is sorely-.

zzzzzzzzzZZzZzzzzzzzzz

* * *

I estimate it to be day 30. It's hard to tell, since I sleep so often. It's a small blessing, as I would have probably gone insane. There is very little you can do as an infant. Sure, the woman comes in, picks us up and plays with us. She talks to us to. I am grateful for this, as I am started to understand her better. I still struggle with full sentences, and I am still fairly clueless when the man talks – as it is so rare. I am getting stronger too. I haven't been able to roll over yet, but I can move my fingers. I was nearly in tears when I could feel them move.

I have spent a lot of time watching the other baby. They always lay us right next to each other, as close as possible, so I have a front row view of its drooling. I've had brothers before. Many brothers. I cherished them all and the times we had together, but I lost all of them. I was the last one standing, left with the responsibility of the clan, of the village, and honestly, I didn't need another one.

This wasn't my family anyways.

* * *

I could roll over now. I believe that makes me four or five months old. At least, it was around that time that my nephew could roll over.

The man officially looks like a zombie. I take a small amount of pride in that. That's what he gets for continuing to add "chan" to my name.

The woman doesn't look much better, and I do feel remorseful about that. She's starting to grow on me. Maybe its hormones: the kind that encourage a child to latch to their mother.

Whatever the reason, the important part is I can now roll over. Or to be exact, I can now roll away from the drooling brat.

* * *

I am a year old now.

Normally I would be celebrating the fact that I can now walk, understand complete sentences, eat without someone roughly sticking a utensil in my mouth, but ever since I found out, it's all I can think about. I didn't believe them at first. I thought they were just trying to be cute since I'm so adorable (their words, not mine). I should have known better though. I had prided myself on my intelligence in the past. My name should have been a big glowing sign.

I was reborn…

.

.

.

As a girl.

.

.

.

.

.

My life as Senju Tobirama has officially concluded.

And my life as Nara Kanoko has begun.

.

.

.

Seriously. What buffoon names both his children, "deer"?


	3. Chapter 2

It was a quiet morning in Konoha. The sun was just starting to rise and the birds have just started chirping. Many of the citizens have yet to get out of bed, while the local merchants are organizing their goods, getting ready for the morning market rush. All in all, it was a peaceful morning in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"SHIKAKU! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF BED!"

The matriarch of the Nara Clan was running around the kitchen, getting ready for the morning. She had a lot to get done in a short amount of time. The deer needed to be fed and managed, breakfast needed to be cooked, the table set, and everything double checked before she sent her family on its way for the day. Of course, she had to do this all herself. Her husband was as about as helpful as a sack of potatoes. No, a sack of potatoes would be more useful, as she could use some for breakfast.

She could always ask her daughter, as she was so diligent in her work and could complete a task with no complaint. Her daughter was the apple of her eye. No, this was her and Shikamaru's first day of the academy, she wouldn't put additional work on her little Kanoko.

With a smile, Yoshino continued on making breakfast for her family while going over again in her head what her two children would need for their first day.

Upstairs, the two said children were waking up. Well, Kanoko was waking up. She stretched a little before getting out of bed and making her way to the bathroom across the hall. She was a morning person, like her mother, and only looked slightly tired as she fished around the mirror cabinet for her toothbrush. As she started to brush her teeth, she took a look at her appearance. Her dark brown hair was mess. She still struggled with having long hair. She would have prefer to keep it at the length she had in her past life, but her mother loved her hair, always saying how happy she was that Kanoko took after her, more than her father. In an effort to appease her, Kanoko kept growing it and it now reached a couple inches past her shoulders.

Kanoko started to brush her hair and then wrapped it up into a bun with a few loose strands of hair sticking out like spikes. She had no bangs and only two loose pieces of hair curling out from behind her ears to frame her face, much like her mother's hair.

After finishing in the bathroom, she walked back to her room. Kanoko's father, Nara Shikaku, was the head of the Nara Clan as well as the Jounin Commander and had both the wealth and power to back up those claims. As such, Kanoko lived in a fairly large house, in the Nara forest lands, away from other families. However, even though the house was large enough to fit three families, Kanoko and Shikamaru shared a room. This started when they were young, as Yoshino wanted her children to be close by if they needed her and Shikaku found it too troublesome to travel to from room to room to care for his heirs. Getting out of bed was difficult enough.

This of course, was supposed to be temporary until they grew old enough to share the same room. Kanoko was overjoyed when she was moved to her own room. Shikamaru, for as lazy as he is, latches on like a koala bear at night. No amount of kicking, hitting, elbowing, pillows, or blankets stopped him. And he hadn't outgrown his drooling yet either. To say Kanoko was happy when she was given her own bed would be an understatement.

Her happiness was short lived, however.

 _Flashback_

 _Kanoko had laid down in her new room and bed a while ago and was just starting to fall asleep. She never felt so relaxed before. "Who knew having another person taking up valuable sleeping space could be stressful." She thought with her eyes closed._

 _Kanoko opened an eye when she heard her door open slightly. A small amount of light came in, enough to make out a small form at the door._

" _Shikamaru, go back to bed." She grumbled out._

 _He stared back at her. Shikamaru has these dark beady eyes that has always unnerved her. He continues to give her a bored stare before closing the door behind him and making his way onto her bed._

" _I said no." She drowned out, not bothering to sit up. He stopped his movements and this time he kept his gaze away. He kept his head turned to the side, not saying anything or moving away. This was another thing that annoyed her to no end. In the past, she had a variety of childish behaviors she had to put up from her brothers. Loud complaints and overdramatic whining was what she was used to. Silence with the occasional gruff or the word "troublesome" (and she was beyond done with that word) were the typical responses she got from her brother. And it annoyed her to no end._

 _During her musings, she noted he still had not moved or said anything._

" _Shikamaru. What. What is it you need?" She asked, if only so she could finally go to sleep. The response she received was a mumble._

" _I have no idea what you said." Kanoko sighed this time._

 _Feeling a sort of defeat, Shikamaru started to move away from the bed and trotted slowly to the door._

" _Finally." Kanoko thought as Shikamaru opened the door to leave._

 _Before he complete left through the door, he took one last look back at Kanoko. His face, for once, didn't hold a bored look, but rather a disappointed and lonely look. He quickly looked away though, and started to close the door._

" _Wait." Shikamaru looked back when his sister called. Kanoko didn't say anything else, she just patted the spot next to her. With this, Shikamaru slinked back to Kanoko's bed after closing the door. He snuggled under the sheets and next to his sister._

" _Don't think this is going to be an every night thing." She told him sternly with a frown before closing her eyes again, missing his small smile._

 _End Flashback_

It of course turned into a nightly occurrence and soon Shikamaru started stuffing all his clothes in her dresser. She protested of course, but Shikamaru just slept through her nagging.

Kanoko walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of dark gray shorts and a navy blouse with pink flowers and the Nara Clan symbol on it. Kanoko didn't enjoy wearing such girly clothes, but again, whatever makes her mom happy. She regularly gets a front row seat to her ranting at Shikamaru and Shikaku, and she would like to stay on her new mother's good side.

Once Kanoko is dressed, she looks back at her bed. She sees the lump in the covers that still has yet to move. Maybe she has finally got lucky and her brother passed peacefully in the night. She sees the lump twitch and knows she is not getting lucky anytime soon.

With a grumble, she walks over to the bed and rips off the sheets. Shikamaru's eyebrow twitches, but he still refuses to open his eyes.

"If you don't get up, Kaa-san is going to come in screaming at you." She says in a low and annoyed voice. He still doesn't respond, so she walks over and rips the pillow he is holding onto. He was holding onto rather tightly, so his top half follows the pillow to the ground.

"Uhgg. Troublesome woman…" He mutters as he tiredly stares at his sister upside-down.

"You have 10 minutes to get ready." That's all Kanoko says before walking out and down the stairs to the dining room.

"Kanoko. Good morning! Can you set the table for me please? Your good for nothing father is taking forever to feed the deer." Her mother asks as she enters the room.

"Good morning Kaa-san. And certainly." Is Kanoko's response as she sets the table.

"Did you wake up your brother?"

"Hai."

"Good, I don't want you guys late for your first day at the academy! Are you excited?!" Her mother asks with a large grin.

After setting the table, Kanoko sits down at the bar to talk to her mother while she cooks, "Hai. I am eager to learn more about the village and becoming a ninja."

Before Kanoko can continue, she is interrupted by a large yawn from her brother. He lazily walks to the dining table and sits down. Kanoko thinks irritated, "Great, now Yoshino is going to yell at him since he has no manners."

"SHIKAMARU! You get over here and greet your mother properly with a good morning!" Yoshino screams from the stove.

"Troublesome woman…" is the only response she gets. Yelling is all Kanoko hears next.

.

.

.

Why couldn't have stayed dead? Was that really too much to ask?


	4. Chapter 3

"Man, this is such a drag." Shikamaru complained, following his sister with his hands behind his head. Kanoko just continued to walk down the street, eyes focused on the path ahead. Kanoko couldn't say she was any more excited than her brother. What could she possibly learn that she didn't already know? In her prime, she created a number of jutsus that are now considered forbidden, had aided her brother in the creation of this village, and knew a world before peace. Compared to that, the academy was going to be the easiest thing she has ever done, outside of breathing. However, that doesn't mean she will moan about it out loud. She had too much pride for that.

As they continued to walk towards the academy, Kanoko took a moment to observe the village. Much of it was as she remembers in her previous life. Civilians and ninjas alike walked around the town, gathering at certain stands, laughing or conversing peacefully. The places and people may have changed, but she could still feel the warm and peaceful energy from when her brother still roamed these roads. It was hard to imagine that these streets were once a battlefield, but she would always remember.

"Looks like we're here. *sigh* It's troublesome, but I guess we don't have a choice."

Kanoko looked back at her brother as he spoke, then forward and realized he was correct. Huh, she doesn't remember the trip here. Kanoko berated herself for loosing sense of her surroundings before following her brother into the academy.

After they found the classroom they would be in, Shikamaru plopped down at the nearest desk and put his head down for a small nap.

" _Maybe if I sit as far away as possible, people will think we aren't closely related."_ Kanoko thought as she made her way to the back of the classroom. When she sat down, she took an opportunity to look at the children in the room. " _Fairly large with face markings, likely an Akimichi. Glasses and lots of clothes, Aburame. Pink hair? Odd. Long hair with pupil-less blue eyes, my best guess is Yamanaka. Pale eyes, Hyuuga._ " Kanoko moved around in her seat to get a better look at some of the other children. " _There aren't as many clan children here as I expected. Perhaps the clans have changed overtime and I can no longer recognize the signs of each clan."_ Kanoko continued to observe the occupants in the room with curious eyes.

"Ok class! Take your seats. Come on now. I SAID TAKE YOUR SEATS!" Shouted a tall brown hair man with a spiky ponytail. Everyone quickly ran to the nearest seat and looked up at the teacher silently.

"Good. Ok, so I want you all to introduce yourself. We will start at this end and go around the room. Just your name and one fact about yourself. I'll start. My name is Umino Iruka and this is my first year teaching. Now next!" He said with a big smile before motioning to the kid at the front.

" _Why would you tell us that this is your first year teaching? Now I have even less faith in learning anything useful."_ Kanoko thought as the first kid introduced himself. She had a frown on her face, thinking about her depressing future before suddenly getting poked in the side. She barely turned her head as she glared at the person doing the poking. It was the weird pink haired girl from before. Kanoko stared at her until she finally whispered, "What?"

"Umm. Do you think we should be worried?" She shyly asked while avoiding eye contact.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "About what?" The girl then pointed at a window behind and to the right of Iruka-sensei. A blob of yellow and orange was making its way through the window rather clumsy. After making it through without much noise, the boy looked at the teacher and snickered with his hand over his mouth before trying to sneak around.

"Idiot." Is all Kanoko said before closing her eyes, trying to convince herself that she wasn't in a classroom full of little kids. This was going to be a long couple of years…

"YOU! Did you honestly think you could sneak past me?!" Iruka-sensei yelled at the boy when he tripped over an eraser and ran into the teacher's desk.

"Oh come on! This class was impossible to find and I'm barely even late! Give me a break!" Yelled the boy as he pouted before running to a seat with a large grin on his face.

"Fine! Then you're next! Name and a fact about yourself, other than you inability to arrive on time!" The teacher was red in the face and you could tell he was trying to calm himself. As he said, it was his first year teaching and he wasn't quite used to troublemakers yet.

"What is inability? Did you just make fun of me?!" The boy asked with a frown stand up and leaning on the desk in front of him.

"No, just forget it. Now tell us your name and something about you already!"

The boy sat back down with his arms crossed. "Fine!" He then broke out in a grin and yelled, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the Hokage!"

A chorus of groans and "not uhh"s started.

"I am too! Just you all watch! Believe it!" He yelled back, jumping up onto the desk behind him, getting in the personal space of a black hair boy.

"SIT DOWN NARUTO!" Iruka-sensei screamed while pulling him back into his chair.

"NOW, let's continue on with our introductions. And no irrupting from anyone!" He finished with a pointed look to the class.

Kanoko zoned out again, not bothering to listen to any of the kids. It wasn't important anyways. Soon, she would pass the requirements and start her career as a ninja. Again. None of these children meant anything to her nor would they matter to her in the future.

Kanoko then saw her brother get up.

"My name is Nara Shikamaru and that girl is my sister." He stated in a bored tone pointing at Kanoko.

" _That little!_ " Kanoko thought grinding her teeth. So much for pretending she didn't know him.

They continued the introduction until it got to Kanoko. She stood up and started, "My name is Nara Kanoko and I…" Kanoko stopped for a second, trying to think about something to say, _"…and I was once known as Senju Tobirama, the second Hokage, younger brother to Senju Hashirama, and I died many years ago, only to be reincarnated into the body of a girl, whose family consists of an aloof and lazy father, an equally lazy and irritating brother, and a possibly insane mother who likes to yell. I still can't form chakra the way I want to or used to and it is driving me insane. I can't tell anyone that I'm Tobirama because I'll either be killed, laughed at, sent to the insane asylum, or other horrible things. So, here I am, stuck introducing myself to a bunch of infants who have no idea what I'm talking about…_ "

Kanoko shut her eyes and thought, " _Yeah, that won't go over well._ " She looked over to her brother, stretching her mind for an idea and went with the first thing that popped in her head.

"And I don't like pineapples."

Shikamaru just gave her a blank stare back before drifting off to sleep again.

Kanoko could already tell that this was going to be the best four years of her life.

.

.

.

Not.


	5. Chapter 4

You would think being a key player in the creation of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and becoming its Second Hokage would earn you a little respect. At the very least, a supporting role in the tale. Nope, Senju Tobirama was a foot note; a glorified foot note in the tale of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Better than that, even Uchiha Madara had a leading role in the tale – granted, as a villain, but a leading role, none the less.

Ok, so maybe Kanoko was making this a bigger deal than it was, but honestly being surrounded by all these kids made her feel the need to be childish.

And it was this childish tantrum that was the leading cause of the events that day.

The day Kanoko made an enemy she would forever regret.

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.

.

"Ok class! You are dismissed for today! Don't forget, your assignment is to write down why you want to be a ninja and bring it to class tomorrow for discussion." Iruka-sensei told the class loudly as everyone gathered there things.

Kanoko was still grumbling in her head about the day's history lesson. She got up, trying to make a quick escape out the door, but was having difficulties getting past all the chatting kids.

"Ano, Kanoko-chan?"

Kanoko turned around to the voice that called her, with a slight tick on her head. It was the pinkette again. What was her name?

"Hai?" She answered.

"I was wondering… well…" The girl was fidgeting, unsure of herself in what she wanted to ask.

Kanoko was slowing running out of patience, but quickly told herself that this was a little girl she was dealing with and she needed to be calm.

Taking a small breath, she said slowly, "Don't worry, please just ask me your question." Kanoko tried to follow it up with a kind smile, but it came out more as an awkward smirk. She was horrible with children…

"Well… Do you mind if we walk together to kunoichi class?"

…

What?

"Kunoichi class?" Kanoko asked with a worried tone.

"Hai." Was the girl's simple response.

They stared at each other for a moment, the girl with a lost and hopeful look and Kanoko with a shocked and pale expression.

Suddenly, a dark aura flooded the room.

"Eeek! Sorry!" The pink hair girl screamed with small tears as she ran away from Kanoko.

" _They can't possibly be serious! I spend how many hours learning a history that is only loosely true and now I have to go to a kunoichi class?! What do they do in kunoichi class anyways? Press flowers?! Senju Tobirama will not press flowers!_ " Kanoko thought spilling negative energy in waves.

How many more blows to her ego must she endure? Maybe next, they'll run tests on everyone and learn she has the chakra reserves of a small rodent and start training her how to be the perfect house wife.

Kanoko started stomping towards the classroom doors and thought, " _I'd like to see them try!_ "

*CRASH*

"HEY! What's the big idea huh?!"

Kanoko looked down at the kid she just knocked over in her rage. She looked like a gangster's that was just disrespected.

It was that idiot that failed to sneak into the classroom earlier.

"OI! I asked you a question! What are you deaf?!" He asked getting up into her face with his bottom lip sticking out and eyes narrowed. "Do you have a problem with me?! Huh?! HUH?!" He then got into a fighting stance with his hands moving all over the place.

Kanoko just stood there, shaking in anger, " _Tobirama, calm down. You are above this. Just breath._ " Kanoko told herself, in an attempt to control her anger. " _A ninja must suppress their emotions. This childish anger is beneath you._ "

Naruto, of course, took her shaking as fear and stopped moving around and instead took a victory pose. "Haha! Scared of my super amazing ninja skills?! I understand completely! No worries, the great Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, forgives you!" He finished with a large mischievous grin and a loud laugh.

He turned round, but not before saying, "Maybe with hard work and lots of practice you will have the guts to face me! Hahaha-" Suddenly Naruto was yanked away from his attempt to leave and dragged right into the purple and angry face of one Nara Kanoko.

"Listen here you little bastard. I'm not going to let some idiot mock me. I don't care if you are an Uzumaki, you're just some third rate ninja whose not going to become a genin, let alone become the Hokage!" With that, Kanoko roughly shoved Naruto to the ground before roughly walking right over him.

Without turning around, Kanoko, in a low voice said, "You couldn't hit me, if I was tied to a pole and were unconscious."

As a final blow, she said, "You're just a village idiot."

Kanoko then continued to make her way to the exit, ignoring the shocked faces staring at her and Naruto.

With barely noticeable tears in his eyes, Naruto quickly shook the hurt away and turned it into anger, yelling, "I don't know who you are, but you and I are rivals! Did you hear me?! I'm going to beat you, you bastard!"

"I'd like to see you try." Was Kanoko's only response as she left the room for her next class.

* * *

It was later, eating dinner with her family that the gravity of the situation hit her.

She, Nara Kanoko, previously Senju Tobirama, threw a tantrum. A childish, hair pulling, name calling, tantrum.

.

.

.

She deserved the flower pressing classes. She really did.

* * *

Elsewhere…

A shadowy figure cracked open a window to the academy classroom. The figure quickly jump from the window, into the classroom.

"Haha! I'll show her. This will be my best prank yet! No one will ever see this one coming! Watch out teme! Uzumaki Naruto is the best! Believe it!"


	6. Chapter 5

It was another bright and peaceful day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The day was just starting and families were waking up, getting ready for the day. In one particular household, things were things were normal, beginning the way they do every day.

"SHIKAKU! GET YOUR SORRY ASS OUT OF BED!"

* * *

Kanoko walked in the class doors behind her brother. She walked to the same seat as the day before, hoping to see the pink haired girl to apologize to, for her behavior yesterday. " _My actions were unbecoming and unacceptable. I must take responsibility for my actions_." She thought, sitting down.

As she watched the door for her, she noticed it was the Uzumaki she got in a fight with. " _That's right. I will need to apologize to him as well_." She thought watching him make his way to the seat in front of her. Their eyes met before he sat down, but not directly in front of her – just off to the side. He had a blank stare, before turning around and sitting down, but not before Kanoko caught the tail end of a devious smirk.

Kanoko narrowed her eyes in suspicion and asked herself, " _What is he up to_?"

"Uzumaki. I wanted to-" She didn't get to finish as Iruka-sensei called the class to order.

"Ok class! In front of each of you is a pencil and paper! Now this piece of paper is very important. This is your registration form as a ninja, so take your time before filling it out. No second chances!" He finished before motioning the class to start.

Kanoko looked down at her pencil. There was some sort of odd grip on it. She had seen a few of them in stores, but never used one. Some of these new inventions still got the better of her somedays. Pushing that aside, she grabbed the pencil and moved it to the paper. Once the pencil hit the paper, the pencil snapped in half where the grip was and black ink sprayed out all over her and her paper.

" _What the hell?!"_ Kanoko thought trying to rub the ink off of her, only making it worse.

Looking at her ruined paper, she picked it up and started walking to Iruka-sensei.

"Sensei, my pencil, in absent of a better word, exploded, and my pap-" Kanoko didn't get to finished her statement as she tripped over an invisible wire and went down hard; face first.

"Nara-san! Are you ok?" Iruka-sensei asked running over to Kanoko. He helped her off of the ground, while she stared at wire, noting where it was coming from.

" _That little brat!"_ She thought in simmering anger. She looked over at Naruto. His eyes were shaped as upside-down crescent moons and he had his hand over his mouth.

"Nara-san. Do you know wh-" Iruka-sensei started before Kanoko interrupted him with a pointed look and replied, "My paper is ruined, may I please have another one?"

Iruka-sensei just stared, bewildered at Kanoko's statement before say, "Uh, sure. Just one moment."

After taking the new form from Iruka-sensei, Kanoko went back to her seat, but not before acquiring another pencil.

She sat down, monitoring Naruto for any other… surprises.

" _I refuse to be bested by a child._ "

* * *

A few hours, Iruka-sensei left the class for a small break. Some of the children left to roam the halls or go outside, but Kanoko stayed at her desk. She didn't feel like moving and reasoned it was due to her genes – she wished she was born to a more motivated clan.

Naruto also hadn't moved, but had long sense put his head down and took a nap. Kanoko wasn't too worried about any other possible pranks, as she now knew of the possibility and was keeping a sharp watch of her surroundings.

Her gaze drifted to the person in front of her. It was an Inuzuka, from what she gathered. He was also sleeping with his head down.

"Nara-san?"

Kanoko looked to her left. Before her, standing, was the pink haired girl again. Kanoko had passed a note to her, while in class, stating that she would like to talk to her.

"Ah, hai. I wanted to apologize… Ano, I don't know your name…" Kanoko said in a bland tone, look up at her.

"Oh! My name is Haruno Sakura!" She said with a timid smile.

"Anyways. Sakura, I wanted to apologize. I was upset at something else and I scared you with my actions. I assure you that-"

"THAT'S IT!" Was the only warning Kanoko got, before being socked in the face and then tackled roughly by the Inuzuka boy.

Let's back up a bit. What Kanoko missed when she was talking to Sakura, was Naruto slapping the Inuzuka from behind, before quickly putting his head down – leading the boy to believe the person behind him had hit him. AKA Kanoko.

Naruto did this three times, each time getting worse, until the Inuzuka kid couldn't take it anymore and decided to get his revenge. Against Kanoko.

After getting over the shock and some of the pain of getting hit, Kanoko started to fight the boy that was on top of her. She elbowed him roughly, yelling, "Get off me you filthy mutt!"

After pushing him off and getting up, she yelled, "What the hell's your problem?! Do you not have any sense of decency?! Or do you only know how to sit, fetch, and play dead?!"

"Stop comparing me to a dog, bitch! You're the one that attacked me first!" He barked, getting onto his feet.

"I did no such thing!" Kanoko spat back.

"Did too!"

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"I will not stand here and argue about actions that I did not take! Now walk away, while I still afford you the opportunity!" Kanoko loudly commanded.

After growling at each other for a time, the boy stomped away, while Kanoko fixed her chair and sat back down.

" _What in the world is wrong with the children these days?!_ " Kanoko thought, glaring at the class before her. Sakura must have been scared off by the fight, as she was no longer anywhere to be seen.

Just as Kanoko started to calm down, she spotted a laughing blonde, out of the corner of her eye.

" _Uzumaki…_ " She thought with a growl. " _This is his doing!_ "

She continue to glare daggers at Naruto until Iruka-sensei came back in and started class again.

" _You're safe right now Uzumaki, but just you wait._ "

* * *

Kanoko took extra precautions making her way through the classroom and out the door once class finished. Thankfully there were no kunoichi classes today, so she could head straight home – to plan.

She had just made it outside when her brother caught up to her. He caught her off guard by placing his hand on her shoulder from behind. As a result, he went airborne over her shoulder. When he landed on his back, he looked up at his sister without moving and asked in a bored voice, "What's your problem?"

She simply stared at him for a second before twisting her head back and forth, observing her surroundings with a small about of paranoia.

She turn back at her brother and mutter, "Nothing. Now get up. We're going home."

And with that, she walked around her brother and towards her clan's compound.

She only made it a few steps.

Before failing 20 feet down a ditch.

" _How the five nations l did I fall for that?! And HOW DID NO ONE ELSE FALL IN THIS HOLE?!"_

"Ahhhhhh Hahahahaha! Haha! HAHAAHA! You totally fell for it! Literally! You FELL FOR IT! HAHAHAHA!"

All Kanoko could see was the outline of person with spiky hair. Three guesses on who it was.

Fucking. Uzumaki. Naruto.

Naruto then ran off laughing, not wanted to stick around for the consequences.

.

"Hey sis. Looks like you've dug yourself into a hole."

.

.

.

" _I hate you._ "


	7. Chapter 6

The Nara Clan forest was a large expanse of land, completely covered by trees. It was located on the outskirts of Konoha and is a unique forest within the Land of Fire. A plentiful amount of deer roamed the area and those of the Nara Clan were entrusted to look after them. The Nara Clan, among their skills in strategies, deduction, and yin jutsu, they were also known for their scholarly dedication to the medical field. Many modern remedies were created by the Nara Clan. One of their most common ingredients were antlers from these deer. It in turn, produced medicines.

There was a condition however: no one, but members of the clan are allowed to step foot into the forest without permission. For this reason, the forest was quiet and peaceful. After all, the Nara Clan certainly wasn't known for their loud demeanor, but rather their "too lazy to speak" principle.

This quiet and serene setting was exactly what Kanoko believed was needed to focus on her training: Molding chakra.

Kanoko sat on the ground, far enough away from her home to be out of sight, but not too far incase her mother needed her. Or get lost… If Kanoko was being honest with herself, it would be the latter.

After crossing her legs, she picked up a fallen leaf and held it in her hand. She tried to focus her chakra into the leaf. Nothing happened.

She closed her eye, focusing on her chakra, which formed in her stomach. She tried to move it around, but by the time she could feel it get to her arms, it would dissipate.

" _Curse this body!_ " Kanoko thought glaring at the leaf in her hand.

Kanoko had been struggling for some time with her chakra. Normally, only regular civilians had chakra reserves so low that they couldn't form their chakra, but Kanoko was from a ninja family and a long standing clan – this shouldn't be an issue.

She had contemplated asking her "father" for help, as there may be something, relating to the Nara Clan that had an answer to this, but she had observed Shikamaru as he (was forced) trained and he did not have the same problem.

" _I'm doing something wrong. I have to._ " Kanoko focused her thoughts and energy into her arm again, and by extension, the leaf. It did not stick.

" _Perhaps this is a consequence of reincarnation?_ "

Kanoko looked up from her arm, towards the sky. She stared at the clouds and thought, " _What good am I, if I can't form chakra? I can only guess that my presence indicates a dark future ahead, but how am I supposed to defend my home, with this limitation?_ "

She stared at the clouds passing by slowly for a while longer before she felt a whoosh of air. She turned her head, noticing someone laying down next to her, gazing at the clouds in longing. Not someone, her brother, Shikamaru.

She opened her mouth to ask a question, but decided she didn't have anything to ask – as least nothing she cared to know.

Instead, she laid down on her back.

It was moments like these that she was reminded of her first family; of her little brothers and her older goofy one. They never got much of a chance to lie down like this, as there was always a battle to fight or a task to complete, but they would have a few small, peaceful moments together.

She looked to her left, towards her brother, barely moving her head. Her mouth settled into a small smile as she thought, " _I guess he's growing on me_."

She closed her eyes, enjoying the fresh air blowing through and the warmth of the sun.

.

"Kaa-san said she needs you to run errands."

.

.

Kanoko gave Shikamaru a bland look and said, "No, I heard her tell you to run errands."

Shikamaru shrugged and said, "I'll tell her you're picking on kids at school."

Kanoko's and Naruto's feud had not dissipated that day in anyway. Much of the class was now aware of Naruto's declaration of rivalry against Kanoko and Kanoko refused submit to the little boy. Her "pranks" – though she would never call them that – were subtle and clever, sometimes so much so that even Naruto had no idea who pranked him. Not that that was too difficult to accomplish.

" _You little brat._ " Kanoko thought staring at her brother bewildered.

She got up from her spot, dusting herself off before looking down at her brother. She gave him a pointed look before saying, "Give me the list."

* * *

Kanoko walked down the street into town. It was still early in the morning, so businesses were just opening up. However…

"What is this?!" Yelled a man Kanoko didn't know.

She turned the corner and found out what all the fuss was about.

Paint. Everywhere.

All of the sides of the buildings and even parks of the roofs had graffiti. The writing was poor and she couldn't make out what it said. She got distracted from the buildings when she heard a familiar crackle.

" _Uzumaki…_ "

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service!" Naruto yelled from on top of the arch above the street.

As he jumped off, he shouted, "I'm going to become the Hokage, no matter what!"

"Hey!" "Come back!" Yelled the villagers, trying to catch up to him.

Kanoko saw him running down the street towards her. He didn't see her. Instead, he was laughing and looking back at the adults chasing him.

"He made a big mess this time." One man said with his arms crossed.

Another villager agreed and said, "Even if we wanted to make a complaint, we can't, because he doesn't have any parents to complain to!"

Kanoko looked at Naruto as he passed, still not noticing her. " _An orphan, huh?_ " Kanoko knew that she probably should have felt pity or at least sadness learning this, but she was raised in constant war. She had lost her younger brothers before they were even old enough to have children of their own. Orphans were common, unfortunately.

Still… she looked back at Naruto.

.

He wasn't smiling anymore.

* * *

After finishing her mother's errands, she walked through the door at home. Setting the bags down on the table she called out to her mother, "Tadaima Kaa-san."

"Okaeri Kanoko-chan!" Her mother greeted her back. Yoshino walked into the room and started helping her unpack all the groceries.

"How was your day Kanoko? And I thought I sent your brother out for this stuff…" Her mother asked in a warning tone.

Kanoko, in her past life, may have faced many evils, but Yoshino was a force to be reckoned with. Hey, if she had the Jounin Commander at her beck and call, who was Kanoko to think her stood a chance (especially with her little chakra problem).

"Hai, you did. I had to go into town anyways, so I volunteered." Kanoko said slowly with a blank look.

Yoshino stared at Kanoko with narrowed eyes, trying to make her sweat, before turning around and continuing to help with the groceries.

"So how did your day go then?" Her mother asked with a smile.

Kanoko let out a sigh of relief before answering her mother.

* * *

The Nara family sat at the table, eating dinner. Shikaku was eating and reading a report from work while Yoshino talked about her day. Shikamaru was eating slowly with lazy movements while Kanoko was listening to her mother. " _Someone has to._ " She reasoned to herself.

Then a light bulb went off.

"Kaa-san?" Kanoko asked, interrupting her mother.

"Yes Kanoko?" He mother asked in wonder.

Kanoko held in a smirk before turning her face into a small pout, "I saw Shikamaru playing with his shadow today! That's not fair! How come Tou-san taught Shikamaru the clan jutsu, but not me? When I asked Shika, he said it was because Tou-san liked him more because he's a boy! Does Tou-san really love Shikamaru more than me?!" For a final touch, she forced some small tears to come out and settle on her cheeks. It took a lot from Kanoko to swallow her adult pride and stoop to this level, but she had been losing a number of battles lately and reasoned it was only logical to change tactics.

And Shikamaru's face made ever painful moment worth it.

So. Worth it.

.

.

.

"SHIKAKU! SHIKAMARU!"

A crash, two high-pitched screams, and a series of begging (not necessarily in that order) were the next things heard from Nara house.

.

And if you listened really closely, you would have heard an evil chuckle as well.


	8. Chapter 7

"Ka! Ka!" was heard from a lone crow passing by the academy.

Inside the academy walls, Iruka-sensei's homeroom class was about to begin.

Kanoko sat on the right side of the class, near the back. Her brother, Shikamaru sat on the left with his new friend, Choji. He brother was still sore about the small prank she played on him the night before. After her mother was finished with the both of them, Kanoko felt a small amount of remorse and guilt over her actions. Her father especially because he hadn't actually done anything wrong besides siring Shikamaru.

Kanoko was sitting up straight, as normal, awaiting the beginning of class, when she saw Naruto run in. He looked around for a moment, then expressed joy when he pinpointed what he was looking for. Grabbing the dry eraser, he placed it at the top of door opening, and closed the sliding door to keep it place. He then pulled out some grease or oil and spread it on the floor, in front of the door, on the classroom side.

" _That idiot is going to get himself in trouble._ " Kanoko thought with a small frown. She looked around the room and noticed that many of the kids were now completely focused on Naruto. Many of them had looks of joyful anticipation.

" _Is this why he does it? For attention?_ " Kanoko didn't understand. She hadn't known anyone who acted this way. Being this foolish would mean death.

Naruto proceeded to stand in front of the door with a large toothy grin.

Kanoko only showed a small amount of shock as she thought, " _What kind of stupid is he?! He's definitely going to get caught, just standing right there with that stupid grin on his face!_

*whoosh* *drop*

Iruka-sensei just stared at the eraser as it fell. He then looked up and gave Naruto a blank stare.

Naruto started slowly chuckling like an idiot, trying not to celebrate his victory just yet.

Iruka-sensei then looked up to the class and asked in a warning voice, "Ok, who did this?"

Kanoko returned his look with a blank stare thinking, " _Seriously? Naruto is standing right. In. Front. Of you._ "

"Of all the juvenile pranks!" Iruka-sensei finished, turning back to Naruto. Naruto just giggled again.

Iruka-sensei huffed before stomping his way towards Naruto. He didn't make it very far before slipped on the grease. "Whhaaaa!"

Bam! Iruka-sensei landed hard and flat onto his back.

"Hahaha! I got you! That eraser was nothing, but a decoy!" Naruto yelled in celebration of his genius.

" _I'll give it to him. It was well planned._ " Kanoko thought watching the exchange.

Naruto then finished with, "And you totally fell for it too!"

Iruka-sensei slowly got up and growled, "Naruto…"

Instead of ranting at Naruto, as the whole class expected (looking forward to), Iruka-sensei stopped and stared at him. He seemed to be thinking of something, but had a look of distaste.

It was quiet for a moment before Naruto grinned and threw up his hands and said, "I know! I'll go wait out in the hall." Naruto started to make his way to the door with a grin before Iruka-sensei stopped him.

"No. Go and take your seat."

Naruto stared up at Iruka-sensei in wonder. Confused, Naruto just walked slowly to the back of the room, where there was an open seat.

"Aww! I thought for sure he'd get yelled at. I was kind of looking forward to it, to tell you the truth." Kanoko heard Choji say to Shikamaru. She noticed Shikamaru shift around to sit up straighter as his eyes narrowed at the scene before him.

" _He thinks it's strange too… I wonder what his thoughts are…_ " Kanoko thought looking at her brother, then back to Iruka-sensei.

Iruka-sensei walked over to the podium and said with a smile, "Ok! The last few days I was subbing for your homeroom teacher, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, he will not be able to take over. So I would like to formally introduce myself as your new homeroom teacher!"

"With that, lets open our books to…" Iruka-sensei started, but Kanoko wasn't listening. Instead, she looked over at Naruto. He looked… lonely…

* * *

"-therefore, a person's chakra is greatly influenced by that person's mental energy." Iruka-sensei closed the book he had in his hand when he heard snoring. He walked towards the back and found Naruto snoozing away.

Iruka-sensei's eyebrow twitched before he raised the book over Naruto's head. As he moved to slam it down, he stopped.

" _He has that look again…_ " Kanoko thought narrowing her eyes on Iruka-sensei.

Suddenly Naruto jumped up and said, "Hey! Isn't it time for class to be over?!"

Iruka-sensei looked to the front of the class at the clock and said, "Oh. I didn't realize it was so late."

Iruka-sensei walked down to the front. He turned around and in a bored voice said, "Well that's it for today. I'll see you tomorrow." Then he walked out of the room.

Naruto snickered, jumping up from his seat and running over to the clock. He moved the big hand back a few minutes, "Haha! I got him again-"

Iruka-sensei walked back into the class, startling Naruto, making him fall off the desk he was using to reach the clock.

Looking up at Iruka-sensei from the ground, he said, "Boy that's smart, but how did you figure it out so quickly?"

Iruka-sensei gave Naruto a harsh look, like he was scum, before saying lowly, "Just return to your seat."

Kanoko stared at Iruka-sensei, not bothering to hide her shock this time. " _Was that really necessary? Naruto is a pain, but he's never shown signs of being a threat._ " Kanoko looked over to her black and spiky haired classmate, " _If anyone should be treated with suspicion…_ " Kanoko thoughts drifted off.

* * *

"Ok everyone! I want all demonstrate your skills in ninjutsu with each other!" Iruka sensei told the class.

Kanoko's class was currently outside the academy, in one of the practice areas. At Iruka-sensei's announcement, the whole class whined.

" _Ungrateful brats._ " Kanoko thought glaring at her classmates.

Iruka-sensei laughed nervously before saying, "Don't worry! You're not being graded on this. This is only so I can assess where you are in your studies and plan how to proceed with our lessons."

Looking at his papers, he continued, "Ok, we'll start with a basic clone jutsu then. First up… Uchiha… Sasuke."

High pitched squealing was heard next. "Oh my! Sasuke-kun!"

Kanoko noted that nearly all of the girls in the class were cheering for Sasuke with hearts in their eyes. She stared at them, bewildered by their reaction. She caught her brother looking at her, so she turned her head to him. He pointed at her, then Sasuke, then made a small heart with his hands all the while smirking. Her eyebrow twitched aggressively before turned away with an indignant look.

She watched as Sasuke made a clone. The girls squealed again, before Naruto interrupted them, yelling that Sasuke's clone wasn't impressive and he knew which clone was real. Which he then attacked.

*poof*

" _Idiot._ " Kanoko thought, closing her eyes. There was no reason to continue watching Naruto make a fool of himself.

His fight with Sasuke continued on for a while longer before Sasuke got in his face and said, "I don't know what your problem is, but leave me alone."

The Aburame kid added on by saying, "All you're doing is interrupting our class and wasting all of our time! You're becoming an annoyance."

" _Hmm, that Hyuuga looks like she wants to sock the Aburame in the face. I didn't think she had an angry bone in her body._ " Kanoko thought looking at the pair.

Naruto looked back and asked, "What?!"

The group of kids moved forward as another student said, "He's right! But you're not just becoming an annoyance: That's all you've ever been or will be."

Another kid looked at his friend and said, "Hey that's cruel Hibachi." He then looked back at Naruto and said with a chuckle, "But sometimes the truth hurts!"

"WHAT?! Why you…!" Naruto went in for an attack when Iruka-sensei grabbed him. He then looked back at his students and scolded, "Hey! Stop ganging up on Naruto!"

Naruto looked at Iruka-sensei and a genuine smile grew on his face, "Sensei…"

Iruka-sensei looked back at Naruto and stared.

" _Oh no. It's that look again. This isn't going to end well…_ " Kanoko thought with a slightly worried look on her face.

"Just ignore him."

.

Naruto's face fell dramatically. He looked crushed.

Iruka-sensei then called the class to follow him. While everyone followed Iruka-sensei, Naruto didn't move. He just looked at the ground.

Kanoko looked back at Naruto.

 _Flashback_

 _Tobirama looked to his brother, Hashirama. Hashirama simple turned around and with a kind smile and cheerful eyes said, "The fellow countrymen of the Konoha make up each part of my body… those of the village believe in me, and I believe in them… That's what it means to be Hokage!"_

 _Flashback End_

Kanoko looked up in irritation. Of course her brother would choose to haunt her at this moment.

Closing her eyes for a moment in debate, she turned back around and walked slowly up to Naruto (you can never be too careful around him).

He didn't notice her as she approached and stopped right in front of him.

Kanoko continue to give Naruto a bored look, trying to think of something wise to say before she settled with, "Oi. Naruto."

Naruto looked up at Kanoko. After recognizing her, her narrowed his eyes and looked ready to defend his pride. Kanoko reminded herself that they didn't get off on the best of terms.

Kanoko turned her head to the side, not moving her body. She didn't do this heart felt emotional stuff. Her philosophy was that a good ninja is a ninja without emotions.

But the little voice in her head, that sounded an awful lot like a certain goofball Hokage, reminder her that she was dealing with a little boy. A little boy raised in peaceful times and if he wanted to honor his deceased brother, he would treat him with kindness.

"…-thought it was funny…" Kanoko mumble with a slight coloring of her face.

Naruto's expression changed rapidly to shock and confusion.

"Huh?"

Kanoko still wouldn't look at Naruto, but said, "I thought your trick with the eraser and grease was funny…"

Naruto was silent as he stared at Kanoko.

She took the silence as needing to say more, so she stumbled over her words trying to say, "And… the clock trick. That one was good. I thought you had sensei that time…"

Closing her eyes with her eyebrows slanted down, with a slight twitch, she forced herself to take the final plunge and said a little loudly, "And Uchiha… Sasuke's hair looks like the butt of a duck." " _Ack! That last one was too much! So unbecoming…_ " Kanoko thought with another aggressive twitch to her eye, angry at herself and her immaturity.

Not hearing anything, Kanoko opened her eyes to take a look at Naruto.

Naruto had a large, open mouth, toothy grin, with big round blue eyes, with stars in them.

" _Holy shit!_ _Abort! Abort!_ " Kanoko thought backing up.

"HAHAHA! Duckbutt! It's perfect!" Naruto yelled, running off after the class – likely to inform Sasuke of his new name.

Kanoko watched Naruto run away. She had a bewildered and relieved look.

" _That was a close call. I thought he was going to break out into tears or hug me to death._ " Kanoko thought with a bored looked before trudging slowing back to class.

But what neither Naruto nor Kanoko saw was a figure hanging around the corner, observing the whole thing.

Hiruzen, Third Hokage, smiled softly before walking away.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _ **I just wanted to say, "thank you" to those of you that have reviewed, "Second Time's The Charm". Whether it be good or bad, or just making factual statements about the show, I appreciate each one of them. :)**_

 _ **Much of what each of you says either inspires an idea or corrects my thinking of a future plot. So, please, keep it coming! :D**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **On another note, I posted a small picture of Kanoko as a genin. I drew it myself, so please be kind! I'm not much of an artist, but I wanted to have a visual for myself and I thought I would share it. She will change quiet a bit over time, but this is how I picture her currently. The link is posted below and on my profile:**_

 _ **Copy and Paste the following URL and remove the spaces:**_

 _ **krista06 . deviantart art/Nara-Kanoko-Genin-638984813**_


	9. Chapter 8

It occurred to Kanoko that her [second] life would be a lot easier if she was born into another family.

As a Senju, she would be surrounded by familiarity. Ideal.

As an Inuzuka, she would have to endure the smell and instinctual behavior (her least favorite type of action) of her clansmen, but she would be free to roam and explore as she saw fit. Doable.

As an Uzumaki, she would be able to focus on her fuinjustu abilities and even expand her knowledge – not mention access to a wealth of chakra. Perfect.

Even as a civilian, she would be able to adapt her surroundings to her own will. After all, no civilian parent would be able to keep up with her, both physically and intellectually. Like taking candy from a baby.

Sure, being born as a Yamanaka would be problematic and as an Uchiha… well they're all dead now, so that wouldn't have worked.

But still…

Life as a Nara was hard. Small chakra reserves were the first hurdle. Add in the ancient and idiotic sexism plaguing the Nara clansmen, and you had a recipe for disaster – at least if you a hundred year old master of the ninja arts, hiding out in the body of a small girl…

And if the complications of her clan weren't frustrating enough, she had to be born into THIS family: An extremely intelligent father, an overbearing and aggressive mother, and a clever shadow of a brother who had to know EVERYTHING.

Between her mother demanding her attention left and right, giving her as little alone time as possible, and the forever watchful eyes of her father, Kanoko never had time (or the ability) to research things important to her.

Like the current state of worldly affairs.

Where were the Senju? How come she never sees any of her former clansmen? Who were the current powers in the world – not the Kage (they learn about them in the Academy), but who were the ninjas that were feared across the great nations? What clans still existed and had new ones formed? Have any new bloodlines been discovered? Why was fuinjutsu such a foreign subject in Konoha? Why couldn't she find any of her research documents – which she was sure she left for the common ninja to review?

She wanted to know so much, but was it worth the risk of standing out?

She may be from a clan known for its intelligence and from the head family to boot, but asking for information that she discovered existed out of thin air? Or asking for something no child, even a really smart one, would want to know? Red flag. Red flag.

Kanoko had heard her father talk to another ninja one night, about an Uchiha prodigy, a few years ago. He had, at a young age, shown a wisdom, intelligence, dedication, and kindness only found in the oldest and wisest of souls. She had contemplated using him as an example to support her curiosity to her father. Kanoko ultimately decided to wait it out. He was still young and she had time, she would wait to see how it will play out.

And then one day, Kanoko woke up to her father running out of the house, in the dead of the night. She stayed up, waiting for her father to return, fearing the village was under attack.

When he returned, she heard him tell Yoshino that all the Uchiha were dead.

Murdered by one of their own.

Uchiha Itachi.

The prodigy.

Rumors on the street were Itachi went insane.

Kanoko knew better.

Ninjas don't go insane without prompting.

.

With this knowledge, Kanoko backed down from standing out too much. Sure, her goal was still to be the best among her classmates. After all, she wouldn't be bested by a group of children, but she wouldn't ask, pursue, or show knowledge of things she shouldn't.

No one would ever know Nara Kanoko was once Senju Tobirama.

* * *

"SHIKAKU! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF BED!"

Kanoko open her eyes, after being woken by her mother's yelling. " _Why does she have to yell_ _ **every**_ _morning?_ "

Kanoko turned her head to the edge of bed before attempting to roll out of bed.

Attempting being the key word here.

A firm tug kept her in place. With a low groan, Kanoko turned to the thing holding her in place.

"Let go." She said sternly to her brother.

"Troublesome… It's too early and cold to get up…" He said, his words muffled by the pillow and blanket.

" _I wish he would grow up and sleep in his own room. …If Yoshino hasn't already turned it into a guest room…_ " Kanoko thought before telling her brother, "Tough. Now move."

With that, Kanoko roughly tugged herself from the bed, taking Shikamaru with her.

He groaned from his spot on the floor, before looking at his sister complaining, "Ugg, all women are the same: troublesome."

Kanoko just gave him an unimpressed stare before responding with, "At least we have an expansive vocabulary. Will you ever grow up?" With that, Kanoko turned around and walked out the door to the bathroom.

* * *

It was a free day today, which means no academy. Shikamaru and Kanoko were kicked out of the house by their mother, so the two of them split off into different directions.

Shikamaru went to find a good spot to watch clouds or find Choji, Kanoko wasn't sure.

Kanoko, on the other hand, had plans.

For a few weeks, Kanoko had been exploring the village, looking for the perfect target: The sucker that would help her get some much needed supplies for fuinjutsu.

Of course, that was only part of the problem. She had to find a victim, form a plan for said victim to do her bidding, find a hiding spot for the supplies, and then a secret spot to form seals and test them out.

She had the spot: the Nara forest – the only benefit from being a Nara. She also had the hiding spot selected: Naruto's house. After all, it was completely understandable that an Uzumaki would have fuinjutsu supplies.

Kanoko had debated simply stealing Naruto's fuinjutsu supplies, but after breaking in, she quickly ran out in fear – there were clothes, food, and garbage everywhere. There were smells that she had never smelled before and she nearly puked after the experience. Luckily, when she was on the ground, holding her stomach, she found a good place to hide her supplies, so long as she created a barrier seal to lock other curious ninjas out.

After that, she just needed a victim and a plan. And recently, she had found a victim.

Maito Gai.

Kanoko had observed him for some time. To get those fuinjutsu supplies, she needed a ninja. Not just any ninja would do, however. A genin walking up to a fuinjutsu supplier would just be turned away. Even a chunin would be suspicious. But a jounin? Not even a second glance.

There was one problem. You didn't become a jounin by being stupid.

Kanoko knew that she would have to tread lightly and needed to get enough intel to complete this without being discovered.

Thankfully Maito Gai was a leaf jounin.

He wasn't as oblivious as he appeared, as Kanoko discovered, but he did have a couple weak points: His passion for youth and one Hatake Kakashi.

If Kanoko plays her cards right, she'll hit both spots simultaneously with Maito Gai none the wiser.

Now to put her plan into action…

Maito Gai was currently at the dango shop, enjoying some fresh dango when he heard his rival's name coming from behind. He turned around with a full mouth and saw a young girl talking to an owner of a fuinjutsu shop. Arguing actually.

The girl pouted, not liking the answer from the merchant, before slumping away dramatically.

Paying for his meal, he ran over to the girl, curious.

"Ohayo young kunoichi! My name is the great Maito Gai! I happened to notice you talking to that shop owner and thought I heard the name of my eternal rival: Hatake Kakashi!" Gai spoke loudly with a twinkle in his grin.

Kanoko looked up at him and shrugged, "Hai. I heard one my classmates say that Hatake Kakashi was Konoha greatest ninja, outside the Hokage! I wanna be a great ninja too! So I asked around and did you know that Hatake-sama is a master of sealing or is really good at it?! If I can learn sealing, maybe I could be as great as Hatake-sama!" Kanoko tried her hardest to appear as an innocent child.

Gai stared at Kanoko before starting to say, "Haha! You want to be a great ninja to forever defend the fair Konoha from all evils? That's great! But you know, Kakashi isn't the only great ninja, actually he and I are equal rivals!-"

"Not uh!" Kanoko interrupted him with a frown.

"Uhh… It's true! He and I have been rivals since we were your age!" Gai defended himself, trying to keep a smile.

Kanoko gave a look on contemplation, before saying, "You may be rivals, but not equals! I bet you can't do any fuinjutsu!"

Gai quickly responded with, "Our battles have been full of both youthful passion and great feats! Now, I may not have mastered the art of fuinjutsu, but I assure you-"

Kanoko interrupted him with a scoff and said, "If you can't do fuinjutsu, you have no hope in ever beating the great Hatake Kakashi!" With that, she crossed her arms and turned her head away, with her eyes closed.

Lighting cracked in the background as Gai gapped at Kanoko. He hung his head in shame, before lifting it with fire in his eyes and shouted, "You are right, young kunoichi! I will learn fuinjutsu, as my rival has, and best him at it! If I cannot, I will run around the village a hundred times on my hands until I do!"

With that, Gai ran over to the fuinjutsu supplier and asked quite loudly how much everything in stock would cost. The merchant was shocked before stumbling out the price. Maito Gai had saved a lot of money from his many S-ranked missions, so he exchanged the money required, for the supplies.

Gai wrapped all the supplies up in a large cloth (as there were no bags big enough) before tossing it over his shoulder and running off.

.

Not until a well-aimed kunai nicked the cloth, dropping a good amount of supplies out.

Enough to take care of Kanoko for a few years.

Kanoko smirked at her handy work before running off as well.

* * *

Kanoko walked into her home, with a small yawn. Apparently plotting and carrying out said plot was more draining then she realized. She, once again, blamed her lineage.

She greeted her mother before asking if she needed any help with dinner.

"Can you go get your brother? He's out back, playing Shogi with a friend of your Dad's." Yoshino said, going back to the stove.

Kanoko just affirmed she would and walked out to the back. " _I didn't think Shikamaru knew how to play…_ " She thought before opened the sliding the door and took a step out.

Kanoko was shocked at the scene before her:

Shikamaru was hunched over the Shogi board with his hand on his chin, sharp eyes dissecting the board in front of him. From what Kanoko could see, his king was well fortified and most of his opponent's pieces were missing.

However, the thing that shocked her most was his opponent: Shimura Danzo.

She was sure. How many ninja's had that scar? And everything about him reminded her of the ninja who she helped trained.

She had no idea he was still alive.

Kanoko knew her student, Hiruzen, was the Hokage (as she left things the first time), but she had never attempted to learn if her other students were still alive as well.

And if she was to be honest, she wasn't sure how she felt about him sitting on the other side of a Shogi board of her brother. The Danzo she remembered was loyal to Konoha, but…

There was always a shimmer of darkness underneath.

She wondered if that darkness grew or was distinguished…

.

Kanoko was taken out of her thoughts when she heard the sliding door behind her slam open. She quickly jerked her upper body to look behind her and saw her father: Shikaku.

The negative energy flowing off of him surprised her.

She had never seen him angry before.

"Danzo-san, welcome to my home. I did not realize you would be visiting. How can I be of service to the council?" Her father asked, only looking at Danzo. Kanoko praised her father for his ability to control his voice.

"Ahh. Nara-san, I am not here on behalf of the council. I was simply making my rounds around the village when I ran into your son. He had mentioned he had never played Shogi before… Such a shame... So I offered to teach him. He mentioned you had a board, so we came here and one game led to another… I didn't realize it was so late. Your boy is quite impressive. Picked up the game quickly and even beat me a few times. Though, I think I still came out winning…" Danzo finished with a fake smile, standing up slowly.

" _Ran across Shikamaru in the village? Shikamaru wouldn't move unless it's to get from one cloud watching spot to another, and he doesn't need to go through the village for that._ " Kanoko thought with narrowed eyes.

Shikamaru stared up at Danzo, then Shikaku, before shrugging, choosing not to say anything. Good call Shikamaru, good call.

Shikaku just continue to stare blankly at Danzo with his hands at his side, but Kanoko did note that his fist clenched when Danzo praised Shikamaru.

"I see. Well, if you beg my pardon, Danzo-san, my family and I are about to sit down for dinner. You are welcome to join." Shikaku finished with a flat tone.

Kanoko gazed at her father in wonder, " _Why would you invite him to the table? He obviously is up to something._ " Kanoko turned her gaze back to Danzo.

"Ahh, thank you, but I must be off. It was a nice distraction, perhaps another time…?" Danzo said walking out through the house to the front door.

"Hai. Perhaps." Shikaku responded, his gaze following Danzo out the door.

Kanoko just watch the door as it closed before looking over to her brother who was yawning.

.

She hoped Danzo was just making a show of power to her father.

.

.

Because she didn't know if she had it in her to lose another brother.


	10. Chapter 9

*Smack*

*Pound*

*Slash*

Sounds of a force hitting a log could be heard in the Nara forest.

Kanoko was currently taking hits at a practice log with a kunai in one hand. She panted, taking a small break, before going back at it. She did this every morning, afternoon and night. She had so much to fix and improve in concern to this body. Her chakra reserve being one (glaringly large) problem.

The only way to improve her chakra reserves would be to physically train her body and mind. Kanoko knew her spiritual energy wasn't a problem, but even with years of training to her body and mind, she would still struggle to get to where she was before dying.

On the bright side, she was slowly increasing her small chakra reserves. She could now flow chakra to her arm and out onto objects – which is critical to fuinjutsu at the very least.

After she finished her training, she would run to Naruto's house and grab her fuinjutsu supplies. Then she would be able to start testing a theory she had been bouncing around in her head: Stealing chakra from her opponents.

Such a seal was going to prove challenging however.

Not only does she have to figure out a way to actually remove the chakra from the enemy, but then she had to find a way to adequately store it. Kanoko, as Tobirama, had created many storage seals, so that wasn't much of an issue, but _where_ she stored it was the problem.

Say she decides to steal the chakra, and then seal it in a scroll. What happens if the scroll is knocked out of her hand or it catches on fire? There were too many scenarios. A ninja battle is decided in seconds.

She couldn't afford to waste those seconds.

The only option she could think of right now was a seal on her body. It would be easily accessible and her opponent wouldn't be able to remove it from her without taking one her body parts – which wasn't likely to happen.

But then that again, begs the question, how is she supposed to suck away their chakra?

And say she figures that part out; she still hasn't come up with a way to introduce their chakra into her network, to use as her own.

Kanoko knew it would take time, but if she wanted to be even remotely as powerful as she once was, she needed to figure out alternate forms of obtaining chakra.

Kanoko stopped hitting the log in front of her and stood there panting. She wiped her forehead before heading back to her house. She reasoned she should get some water and a wash cloth for her face before she continues her training. It was going to be a long night, after all.

* * *

The academy was loud with chatter from students.

Much to Kanoko's irritation, she hadn't arrived early enough. So, for today, she was sitting next to her brother today, waiting for class to begin.

" _Next time, I'm leaving him home._ " Kanoko thought glaring at her brother, who sat in-between her and his friend, Choji.

Iruka-sensei then came into the classroom and called the class to order.

"Ok! Let's start with roll call. Let's see here… Where's Naruto?" Iruka-sensei asked looking around the room.

Kanoko closed her eyes to focus on the chakras around her. She was just relearning her old skill and her range was still very limited, but she could at least feel those around her – and she couldn't feel Naruto.

Next to her, Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in thought.

" _He knows something._ " Kanoko thought.

"Oi. Shikamaru. What do you know?" Kanoko asked her brother with a flat tone.

Shikamaru looked back at her with a thoughtful look, saying, "Yesterday, Choji and I were walking around the merchant section of the village and we saw Naruto. He was in front of a mask shop. The owner threw a mask at him and told him to leave."

Kanoko raised her eyebrow and asked, "What did he do?"

Choji added in, "Nothing, from what we can tell, but everyone was looking at him weirdly."

Kanoko looked back to her brother for clarification, "Weirdly."

"Yeah. I can't explain it. Like they were unsure of him… or scared?" Shikamaru answered with his eyes closed, thinking back on the incident.

Kanoko was confused. What was scary about Naruto?

" _I'm missing vital information here._ " Kanoko thought to herself. She ignored whatever Iruka-sensei was talking about in favor of solving this mystery.

* * *

The Nara family was eating breakfast, surprisingly, peacefully. Kanoko was sitting next to her father, while Shikamaru was across from her, with her mother at his side. They were all eating silently when, again surprisingly, Shikamaru interrupted the peace with a question.

"Tou-san, can I ask you about something that's been bugging me?"

Kanoko's more mature side stopped her from making a smart remark in answer to his question.

Shikaku finished his mouthful before asking, "What is it?"

Shikamaru waved his chopsticks around and said, "It's about Naruto. Why does everyone avoid him like the plague?"

Kanoko looked to her father, also curious about his answer.

When no answer came, Shikamaru asked, "Did he do something wrong?"

There was a bit of silence before Shikaku put his chopsticks down asking, "Shikamaru, why don't you tell me how you feel about Naruto?"

" _Seriously? Now were talking about our feelings? It was a simple question that requires a factual answer. Ugg, this family… Bunch of emotional infants… Well, except for Yoshino. Thank the Shinigami for her._ "

Shikamaru looked shocked, "Uhh… You, you wanna know how I feel?"

" _No, no we do not._ " Kanoko thought with distaste.

Shikamaru looked away to think before saying, "Huh, I never thought about it before." Looking back he finished with, "Well he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he is pretty funny. I don't think we'll be buddies or anything, but it's not like I want to avoid him."

Shikaku smiled at his son. "Well then, ignore the others. I say, treat him however you want to." Shikaku said, closing his eyes, still grinning.

Kanoko looked up at her father, trying to communicate with her eyes, " _You're not off the hook yet. I need more than that to be satisfied._ "

Shikaku saw his daughter's look and sighed. " _She's just like her mother._ " Shikaku thought before returning to his food.

* * *

Kanoko ditched her brother this morning, so she got a prime spot at the back of the class near the window. Rather happy with herself, she gazed out the window, thinking about the seal she was trying to create.

She got distracted when Iruka-sensei came in and call the class to order.

Iruka-sensei placed his hands on the desk and aggressively asked the class, "OK! Has anyone seen Naruto?!"

He did not sound happy.

"Nope, haven't seen him!" Hibachi said with a grin and his hands up.

Suddenly her brother got up and slammed his hands on his desk before shouting, "I saw him this morning heading into the back hills!"

"Pipe down Shikamaru!" Hibachi told Shikamaru, standing up with his friend to glare at her brother.

"What are you doing?!" Hibachi's friend asked.

Iruka-sensei looked concern before asking, "Into the back hills…?"

Leaning over slightly, Shikamaru continued, "He went looking for corpses, didn't he Hibachi? Your pranks have gotten annoying and so have you."

"Stay here and study!" Iruka-sensei shouted before running out in a cold sweat.

"Way to go Shikamaru! You're such a rat!" Hibachi yelled at her brother.

"Whatever, you went too far. You call Naruto an annoyance, but at least he is funny. You're just stupid." Shikamaru responded with an angry look back before sitting down.

Hibachi was red in the face with anger, he reached out and grabbed Shikamaru's collar.

"Shikamaru!" Choji screamed, scared for his friend.

"Hibachi! Don't!" His friend yelled at him, hoping he'll let go of Shikamaru.

"You're going to get it Shikamaru!" With that Hibachi pulled back his fist to hit Shikamaru. Shikamaru closed his eyes in anticipation.

When Shikamaru didn't feel the blow, he opened his eyes.

Hibachi's fist was being held, stopping the blow from occurring, and had a kunai pressed to his throat.

"You will release my brother." Kanoko's tone completely void of emotion. Her eyes were sharp and focused, staring directly at Hibachi, daring him to do anything, but what she demanded.

Hibachi was terrified. He let go of Shikamaru's collar, not daring to move an inch.

Kanoko stared at Hibachi a little longer before stating, in a voice full of promise, "Don't you ever touch him again."

And with that, she removed the kunai and release his fist before walking calmly back to her seat.

The whole class was silent before opening their books to study – as instructed by their teacher.

All, but one.

Shikamaru just watched his sister.

" _I didn't think she cared…_ "

* * *

After a few minutes, the class decided this free period meant they could leave class. Even Shikamaru and Choji left to go get snacks.

Kanoko stayed in her seat, following her instructor's orders.

She couldn't stop this nagging feeling however.

From what Kanoko gathered, Naruto went into a part of the forest where a recent attack on the village had taken place. She reasoned that Iruka-sensei ran out to find him because other threats were suspected to be in the area.

" _Well, it's nothing that concerns me. After all, Iruka-sensei went after him. All I would do is add to the chaos._ " Kanoko thought with her eyes closed. She was correct. She wasn't even a genin and she was still working through some of her own limitations.

She could even die (again) - not ideal.

Kanoko gazed out the window.

Passing by with a book in his hand was a tall, silver haired shinobi.

" _I recognize him… He's one of Shikaku's subordinates. That means he's a jounin._ " Kanoko thought before jumping out the window.

She ran up to the jounin and caught his attention by coughing loudly.

"Can I help you?" He asked slowly, looking down.

"Hai. My teacher, Umino Iruka, ran into the forest to catch a student in danger. I would like you to assist him." Kanoko told the jounin in a flat, no room for compromise, voice.

The jounin moved his face away from his book, raising an eyebrow at the demand before saying, "Oh? And why should I?"

Kanoko stared back at him, not at all impressed and stated simply, "Because the student's name is Uzumaki Naruto and I have a feeling he's important to the village."

Kanoko then turned around and walked away with her hands in her pockets, but not before adding with a wave, "And if you require more motivation, my father's the jounin commander. I'm sure there is a plethora of D-rank missions that need completing…"

The jounin just stared shocked at Kanoko's back before taking off swift in the direction of the forest.

* * *

Kanoko was walking back from the village library when she reached the academy. As she was passing it, she saw Iruka-sensei and Naruto at the tree with the swing. They both were smiling and laughing. They looked scraped up, but no worse for wear.

A small smile formed on her face as she heard a piece of the conversation as she passed.

Once she was far enough away, she looked toward the First Hokage's stone face with a smirk.

" _The will of fire, huh?_ "

She closed her eyes, smile still on her face, as she continued on her path.


	11. Chapter 10

**Authors Note: I spent a little more time and drew a better "genin Kanoko". The link is below and on my profile. Please check it out!**

 **(Please remove the spaces)**

 **krista06 . deviantart art/Nara-Kanoko-Genin-638984813**

.

* * *

Kanoko slowly ate her food that morning, thinking about the last four years. Things hadn't changed that much from when she first started the academy. She never bothered to make any friends and many of the children she didn't even interact with.

She looked over at Shikamaru. His attire had changed a bit. He now wore tan three-quarter pants, a fishnet shirt with a Nara Clan half jacket over top. Outside of his clothes, he hadn't changed at all. It nearly drove Kanoko insane that he never once bothered to complete any of the school work assigned to him. He defended himself, stating that the act of putting pen to paper was a drag.

It was also a drag to have a twin brother, who, from an outside perspective, was as dumb as Naruto.

The only black mark on her hard worked and perfect record.

Thinking of Naruto, he hadn't changed at all either.

He still pulled pranks, many of which, were aimed at her.

That was another thing. Kanoko had hoped when Naruto got into his first fight with the Uchiha, his rivalry with her would end. After all, two rivalries? No sane person would place that burden on themselves.

She, however, overlooked the fact that Naruto is not sane. And contraire to what other people tell you, Naruto can hold a grudge.

It didn't help that Kanoko and Sasuke were continently preforming above class standards. Honestly, Kanoko is just lucky that Sasuke hasn't pursued her as a rival.

Well, he tried, but Kanoko acted as if the Uchiha didn't exist. If she thought Naruto could hold onto a silly grudge, she knew an Uchiha would be ten times worse.

There was also the fact that Sasuke looked just like an Uchiha she once skewered with a sword. A lot of good that turned into be…

* * *

Kanoko took one last look at her before heading out of the bathroom.

She was a genin now and as such, was granted a headband.

In her past, she wore a face guard. To her, it was much more practical, but very few genin wore a face guard. She opted to keep the headband and wore it over her forehead.

She turned her head to the side, taking a look at her hair. Her dark brown hair had grown even longer and now reached the middle of her back. However, she still wore it in a bun. Kanoko also now had bangs that reached to her chin and framed both sides of her face.

Her eyes have gotten sharper and were starting to lighten to an orange color. When she was Tobirama, she was born with dark brown eyes that, over time, turned into a flat crimson color. It seemed this trait carried over.

Kanoko then took a look at her outfit. She had convinced her mother to allow her less frilly clothes to wear.

She had on a pair of dark brown cargo shorts that ended just before her knee. On both thighs were kunai pouches that stored a variety of sealing scrolls, kunai, and explosive tags.

On top, she wore a tight black turtle-neck shirt. Over the shirt was dark brown, short sleeve jacket that had the Nara Clan crest in green on the back. Also over her shirt was armor plating. It was dark gray and had three pieces, the bottom piece hanging a bit below her shirt line. Around her neck was a simple necklace with the Nara Clan crest at the end.

She wasn't wearing any gloves, but she had dark gray plates on her forearms, sticking a little bit passed her elbows.

She wore the standard navy blue sandals. Even if it bothered her slightly that it didn't match…

Last, strapped to her back was a sword. In her past life, she had won many battles and developed a lot of her strategies around her sword.

At first she tried sparing without a sword, but soon found she kept grasping air, looking for her sword to use.

Becoming tired, she finally relented and asked her father for a sword.

A sword meant close combat. Nara's don't do close combat. To say her father was hesitant was an understatement. With enough begging (nagging), he finally relented and promised he would get her a sword if he promised to take lessons.

Kanoko was not pleased. She had been proficient with a sword before Shikaku's father learned how to walk, and yet he was telling her that she needed lessons?

Ok, maybe he didn't know that she was also Senju Tobirama, but Kanoko didn't feel like being rational at the time.

By the time Kanoko had graduated from the academy, she had her sword and completed her, "training", so she was satisfied.

Taking once last look at herself, she proceeded to bid her mother and father a farewell before leaving for the academy building.

Leaving her brother in the dust.

Kanoko chuckled to herself lowly with a smirk plastered on her face.

* * *

Iruka-sensei was standing in the teacher's room, thinking about his class. He didn't like thinking what would be in store for them next. He had done the best he could to get them ready for the world outside, but was it enough? Did he really do a good job? Did he miss something critical that would cost one of them their lives?

Suddenly a small smile appeared on his face. He thought about Naruto and the incident that occurred last night. He was so proud of him. Naruto might have not been the best student, but he had the will of fire running through him and worked so hard every day to make his dream come true.

At first, when he was chasing after him, he was terrified for Naruto. He honestly didn't think Naruto would be able to protect himself, but at the end of the night, Naruto had protected Iruka.

Iruka then thought back to the events earlier that night, when the Third Hokage was deciding teams.

 _Flashback_

" _So, Iruka, I would like your thoughts on the group distributions." The Hokage told him flatly with his elbows on the desk and hands clasped in front of his mouth._

 _Iruka stared at the Hokage in shock, "Uhh. Huh? You would like my opinion?" Iruka couldn't get over his shock. The Hokage always decided the teams and he had never once asked Iruka. Was it different this time because he was there homeroom teacher? Was that common?_

 _The Hokage laughed slightly before say, "Hai. You see, I had all the teams decided, but then one of your students was selected to receive training for a special tracking unit."_

 _Iruka looked up from the list shock and asked, "Who?"_

 _The Hokage thought for a second before stating, "Aburame Shino. He has shown great potential and with the gap in our ANBU ranks, our special units commander would like to see him trained sooner, rather than later."_

 _Iruka was still a little shocked, but when he thought about it, it may some sense to him. Shino was always by the book, worked hard, and showed great promise in his family's jutsus. Though, if Iruka thought anyone would be selected for the ANBU track, it would be Uchiha Sasuke._

 _He would suggest Nara Kanoko as well, but knew her father would quickly put a kibosh on it. Those of higher rank or were close to the Naras knew that Shikaku's daughter was the apple of his eye. He may not outwardly show it like Yamanaka Inochi, but many had heard the stories about the few that crossed him._

 _Iruka looked back at the team selections in front of him. He put his hand on his chin before saying, "Well, there is one student that would greatly benefit from Kurenai's teachings in genjustu."_

 _The Hokage look up at Iruka curious, "Oh? Hmmm." The Hokage looked at the paper and made a few scribbles on it before holding it up and running his eyes over the names again. "I believe you are right Iruka. Here, the teams have been decided. I will announce it to the jounin tonight, but take a copy for your records. It may not be the exact combination I was hoping for, but it has potential."_

 _The Third Hokage handed the paper over to Iruka. Iruka grabbed it and bowed._

" _Thank you Lord Hokage."_

 _End Flashback_

Iruka looked back down at the list.

Today was the day his class would be assigned teams.

* * *

The room was dark with garbage all over the table and floor. The day had long since started, so most were outside their homes, going about their day.

Inside this room, however, a discussion was taking place.

One of the men in the room picked up a discarded carton of milk. He held it up to his nose and took a sniff.

"This is way passed its expiration date." The man said, placing it back down on the table.

Sitting at the table, facing him, was another man. This one, much older and dressed in red and white robes.

"He's a fool, but it would be best if you looked after him." The older man said before continuing, "You have good instincts Kakashi."

Kakashi looked a bit sheepish before answering with, "…sure."

The robed man stared at the floor behind Kakashi while saying, "And also…"

Kakashi sighed, interrupting him before stating, "Hai. I know."

The old man sighed as well before getting up and telling Kakashi, "Keep an eye on that one."

This time, they weren't talking about Naruto.

And with that, the robed man left, leaving Kakashi to his thoughts.

" _You really caught yourself into the middle of something this time Kakashi._ " Kakashi thought, still staring at the ramen cup mess on the table.

* * *

Kanoko was leaning against the window, watching all of her classmates make their way in.

When she saw Ino and Sakura run in panting, she turned her head away. Kanoko had no interest in watching those two compete for the Uchiha. Thankfully today would be the last day she would have to deal with either of them.

Kanoko thought it was a bit sexist that only one kunoichi was on each team. Sure, the three kunoichi she knew were a bit boy crazy, but back in her day, the Senju Clan was filled with powerful and capable kunoichi. The Senju Clan would have never held their own against the Uchiha without them. To see kunoichi degraded in this day and age set Kanoko on edge.

Kanoko then turned her gaze to the blonde shinobi giggling in his seat.

" _I thought he didn't pass…_ " Kanoko thought. Her brother must have had the same idea because he walked over to Naruto and said, "Naruto, what are you doing here? This only for ninjas that passed graduation."

"Do you see this headband?! Huh Shikamaru?! I'm a full fledge ninja! Believe it!" Naruto yelled back at him standing up.

Shikamaru just shrugged and walked away.

Kanoko just closed her eyes and extended out her senses to take a head count of the room instead.

" _Inuzuka, Akimichi, Yamanka, Haruno, Uchiha, Hyuuga, and of course Uzumaki. Where's Aburame?_ " Kanoko opened her eyes to scan the room. She could find him anywhere. _"That's odd, I was sure he passed._ " She thought when the class suddenly went silent.

She twisted her head to where Naruto was (as it always involves him) and was flabbergasted at what she was witness to:

Naruto kissing Sasuke.

.

.

.

" _Didn't see that coming._ " Was all Kanoko thought as Naruto and Sasuke started gagging.

Kanoko decided that even though the last four years had been long and tenuous, she would miss these moments as she watched Naruto get the snot beaten out of him by the girls.

* * *

The whole class was now quiet. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, curious whom they would be paired with. Iruka-sensei stood at the front of the class, listing off team 5's members and sensei.

Kanoko took a look around the room and starting listing off which teams wouldn't make it past the first round. Kanoko was under no illusion that this was the last step in becoming a ninja. She created the academy after all. As Tobirama, she was one of the first ninja's to form a team of upcoming ninjas from different clans – something that was previously unheard of.

Kanoko focused back on Iruka-sensei, berating herself from getting sidetracked. Hopefully she hasn't missed her assignment.

"Ok! Team 7 will be Uzumaki Naruto…"

Naruto's head jerk upwards at the mention of his name.

"…Haruno Sakura…"

"YEAHHH!" "NOOOOO!" Naruto and Sakura yelled simultaneously, with Naruto jumping up in joy and Sakura slumping in depression.

"Hahaha! Nice job forehead!" Ino said, joining in before snickering some more.

" _Now that's a combination. I feel sorry for the poor soul who is stuck with them..._ " Kanoko gaze shifted to Sasuke. " _It'll probably be him. I vaguely remember a practice of sticking the best performer with the worst._ " Kanoko thought breathing a sigh of relief. She wasn't too concerned with the team she would be assigned, but she most certainly didn't want to be on Naruto's team. She chuckled a little at how horrible that combination would be for everyone involved.

"…And Nara Kanoko, under Jounin Hatake Kakashi."

.

.

.

What?

.

.

.

Kanoko's eyes looked like blank white holes. She turned a pale shade of gray as the atmosphere around her turned dark.

Naruto went rigid before slowly turning around with a heated glare. Flames of promise rose in the background before Naruto yelled at Iruka-sensei, "What?! How come an awesome ninja like me has to be on a team with a loser?!" Naruto finished by pointing angrily at Kanoko.

Kanoko's face still hadn't changed and her brother was worried she'd had a heart attack. Shikamaru poked her from behind with a pencil. Slowly Kanoko fell sideways, still as rigid as a log, before hitting the ground. When she hit the ground, her soul was seen leaving her body.

For this reason, Kanoko didn't hear the explanation give to Naruto about Team 7's selection.

Or who was on the next three teams.

.

.

.

She later learned that Hinata, Kiba, and Sasuke were on Team 8 with a jounin named Kurenai, and Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji were on Team 10 with a jounin named Asuma.

* * *

Kanoko spent the break period before meeting their new sensei's in the classroom – recuperating.

After everyone filed in, the sensei's started showing up.

Kanoko waited, curious about her own sensei. She had used Hatake Kakashi's name to manipulate Gai, but never actually sought out the man himself. Kanoko reasoned that she likely already met him through her father's position, but dismissed it as it made no difference now.

And again, a ninja didn't make jounin without intelligence, skill, and will. She actually looked forward to having a strict and experienced teacher who took their job seriously. The academy was to encourage loyalty to the village and hope for a better future. It would be a nice change to learn the harsh realities of this new time.

Kanoko decided, with a small smirk, that even though she was stuck with Naruto, this was a good thing.

 _Several Hours Later_

" _HOW. HARD. IS. IT. TO. BE. ON. TIME._ " Kanoko thought snapping the pencil in her hand in half. Her face didn't reveal how she was really feeling, but her patience had just snapped with that pencil.

It was so late that even Iruka-sensei abandoned them.

If that only wasn't bad enough, Naruto would. Not. Shut. Up.

Which got Sakura going; having to correct him.

Every.

Time.

She hated them both.

No.

.

She hated all three of them.

.

"Naruto! Stop it! You're going to make sensei mad!" Sakura yelled at Naruto from her seat in the classroom.

"Serves him right! Even Iruka-sensei didn't stick around!" Naruto responded placing the chalk filled eraser above the door.

Sakura huffed and turned around to Kanoko and whined, "Kanoko! Tell Naruto to stop! He's going to get us in trouble!"

Kanoko didn't even bother to open her eyes, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold her emotions in. She let go of a large breath, to calm herself down, before sternly responding with, "Naruto. You are a ninja now. Act like it."

Naruto was about to yell back at Kanoko when the door opened suddenly.

*poof*

The eraser landed right on top of his silver-haired head.

Kanoko and Sakura sweat-dropped while Naruto started laughing loudly, "You fell for it! Haha!"

Kakashi just stared at them blankly before saying, "My first impression of you all… I hate you."

Team 7 just stared blankly back.

" _Don't worry. The feeling is mutual._ " Kanoko thought before her sensei informed them to meet on the roof.

* * *

Sitting down on the roof, Kanoko was in the middle with Naruto on her left and Sakura on her right.

Kakashi was leaning on the railing behind him before he said, "Ok! Let's start with introductions."

Sakura looked back at her sensei and asked, "Introductions? What do you mean?"

"Your name, things you like, things you dislike, hobbies, and dreams for the future, stuff like that." Kakashi respond with a bored voice.

Naruto stare at Kakashi before asking, "Why don't you tell us about you, so we know how this works!"

Kakashi pointed to himself, "Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate? I don't feel like telling you that…"

Naruto and Sakura looked up with a confused look.

"…dreams for the future? Never really thought about it. As for my hobbies? I have lots of hobbies." Kakashi finished.

"Great, we learned nothing!" Sakura complained to Naruto and Kanoko.

"I have a feeling that's going to be the theme of this apprenticeship." Kanoko mutter lowly back.

Naruto responded, whispering, "I don't understand. What does that mean?"

Kanoko sign lightly before saying, "Nothing…"

"Ok! Your turn. You on the right, you're first." Kakashi said folding his arms.

Naruto adjusted his headband with a grin before saying, "Alright! Believe it! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like instant ramen and I really like the ramen Iruka-sensei buys me from Ichiraku's! I hate the 3 minutes it takes to heat up ramen. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them! And my future dream is…"

Naruto stood up before shouting, "To be the greatest Hokage! That way the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like somebody! Somebody important!"

" _He's grown up in a very interesting way._ " Kakashi thought gazing at Naruto. "Ok! Next."

Sakura started grinning and said, "My name is Haruno Sakura! What I like… uhh.. I mean who I like…" She started shifting around, not looking anyone in the eye. "…my hobby is uhhh… my dream for the future is…" And then she squealed.

" _What is wrong with her?!_ " Kanoko thought, staring bewildered at Sakura.

"…And… What do you hate?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto!" She responded immediately.

"Ehh?!" Naruto asked, looking crushed.

Kakashi just sighed before thinking, " _Girls her age are more interested in boys than ninjutsu training._ "

Kakashi moved his gaze to Kanoko. "Ok, you in the middle."

Kanoko stared back at him, not impressed at all.

Closing her eyes, she simply said, "My name is Nara Kanoko. You don't really care about what I like, and I dislike disloyalty... and tardiness... My hobbies are training, and my dream is to protect the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

" _Well. That was boring._ " Kakashi thought before talking again, "Good. You are each unique with your own ideas. You have your first mission tomorrow."

"A mission?! Ooo! Are we going to rescue a princess or fight samurai?" Naruto asked raising his hand in the air.

"Not quite. This will be a survival mission." Kakashi explained slowly.

"Survival? I thought we would go on real missions. We did stuff like that in the academy!" Sakura asked unsure.

Kakashi simply said, "This is not like your previous training."

"What kind of training is it?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi just started chuckling, until it got louder and louder.

"Hey! That's a normal question. What's so funny?" Sakura asked a little peeved.

"If you told you, you wouldn't like the answer." Kakashi simply replied. "Of the 27 graduates, only 9 will make genin. In other words, this is a make it or break it – pass, fail test. And the chance that you'll fail is at least 66%."

Naruto and Sakura went white.

"Whaaaat?!"

"That's it. I decide whether you pass or fail." Kakashi added with a grin. "Meet me at the designated training grounds at 5am tomorrow morning. And bring your ninja gear."

Before running away, Kakashi added one last piece of advice, "Oh. And tomorrow you better skip breakfast or you'll puke." And with that he left with a teleportation jutsu.

Naruto got up and yelled, "Ugg! This is so unfair!"

* * *

Kanoko dragged herself through the door to her home before searching for her father's chakra signature.

When she found it, she moved to sit next to him, glaring at his back.

"How can I help you Kanoko-chan?" Shikaku ask simply without moving from his position at the Shogi board.

Kanoko huffed slightly before saying, "An early death would be ideal, but I'll settle with an explanation."

Shikaku chuckled lowly, "Sorry. Can't help you there. This was the Hokage decision. We learned of it just before you did."

Kanoko gave her father a blank look, "You daughter ends up with the legendary copy nin as a sensei and your son's team's sensei is the Hokage's own son, and you had _**nothing**_ to do with it?"

"Why are you always so mean to your Tou-san, Noko-chan?" Shikaku asked with a grin.

Kanoko crossed her arms and closed her eyes muttering under her breath about troublesome fathers.

"Haha! Just wait until Shikamaru hears that you said his favorite word." Her father stated with a loud and deep laugh.

"He will hear no such thing." Kanoko said with a pointed look before smirking, "Or I'll show Kaa-san what you are hiding in the back of your closet."

All the color in Shikaku's face drained.

"Deal."

* * *

Kanoko started walking carefully into the training ground at 4am sharp. She had been to this training field many times, but wanted to set up traps and surveil the land for possible traps left by Kakashi.

After all, one of her first lessons to her students was be aware of your surroundings 100% of the time.

After she set a few traps and completed her search of the surrounding area, she sat down in front of three practice logs and start on some stretches. It was a little before 5am when Naruto and Sakura showed up, looking liked they just rolled out of bed.

" _I will have to teach them to be constantly vigilant._ " Kanoko thought, gazing that the two of them.

Both of them greeted Kanoko with a yawn before sitting down nearby.

 _Six Hours Later_

Kanoko had taken to a mediating stance, focusing on her chakra and the chakra around her.

Naruto and Sakura were leaning against one and another, stuck between awake and asleep.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted as he teleported in front of them.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled at Kakashi. Kakashi started on some kind of excused that Naruto and Sakura didn't believe before pulling out an alarm clock.

Kakashi walked over and set it down on a stump, before clicking it and saying, "Ok! It's set for noon."

"Huh?"

Kakashi then pulled out two bells and waved them around, "Your job is to get one of these bells from me." He looked over to the stumps, "If you can't get them by noon, you will be tied to those poles and you'll watch while I eat my lunch."

Two stomachs growled at the announcement.

"But sensei! There's three of us and only two bells!" Sakura asked sensei, astonished.

Kakashi chuckled, "That way, at least one of you fails." Kakashi rang the bells before continuing, "You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't take the bells."

Sakura was shocked, "But sensei! We could hurt you!"

"Haha! Especially since you couldn't dodge that eraser!" Naruto laughed at Kakashi.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, saying, "Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. Lowest scores. Losers."

" _Shit! Kakashi is sabotaging us! I have to say something and quick._ " Kanoko thought.

"We don't have one of those on Team 7, so why don't you stop gossiping like a cooped up house wife and start the test already?" Kanoko tried to sound extra mean to her sensei to appease Naruto's ego. After all, she was going to need both of them to pull this off.

There was _**no way**_ she would lose to this man, at _**her own damn test**_.

* * *

" _Holy shit!"_ Kanoko thought in a small amount of panic.

Here she was, going from tree to tree, with leaves in her hair, running from her own sensei.

He was on a particular kind of war path – his eyes promising death on impact.

Kanoko cursed her luck. She had to have the #1 knucklehead and the #1 fangirl on her team.

Naruto had run ahead before she could grab him and started fighting Kakashi, in hand to hand combat. Kanoko then ran after Sakura, to inform her of the plan Kanoko was forming in her head, but Sakura kept running away from her.

By the time Kanoko had caught up, she saw Kakashi form signs of a fire-style jutsu behind Naruto. Kanoko threw several kunai at Kakashi, while running to Naruto to pull him out of the way. Apparently, Kakashi wasn't forming the hand signs for a fire jutsu, but for a jutsu called, "Thousand Years of Pain" – whatever that was.

After _**saving**_ Naruto's behind, he pushed her off and went for the bell that Kakashi "dropped".

Kanoko almost laughed out loud at her own misery. This was her teammate. A special kind of idiot, who falls for traps civilian babies wouldn't fall for.

But again, Kanoko invented this pathetically simple and obvious test, so she grinded her teeth and went in to help Naruto.

After cutting him down and getting shoved (again), then waking up Sakura from a genjutsu (also receiving a shove from her - what the hell is with her teammates and shoving her?!), Kanoko was done.

She

Was.

Done.

Kanoko roughly grabbed Sakura by the back of her dress, found Naruto and pulled him up by the collar, and tossed them both on the ground in a safe spot away from Kakashi-sensei.

"If you both don't sit down and shut up, I swear on my honor as a shinobi of the leaf village, I will burn down Ichiraku Ramen and slit Uchiha Sasuke's throat!" Kanoko said with force, pulling her sword off of her back as a show of power.

Both Naruto and Sakura turned white before they sat down and waited for Kanoko to continue.

Kanoko breathed in and out before saying, "This is a test of teamwork! It's so basic, Kiba and Choji could have figured it out in a number of seconds! The only way we are becoming genin, is if we can show that we can work together, **as a team** , to complete our mission!"

"Kanoko-" Sakura started to say nervously.

"No! No interruptions! I've had enough of your childlike behaviors! We are ninjas of the leaf village and you will act as such!"

"Uhh, Kanoko-" Naruto started as well, moving his hand to gesture behind her.

"That doesn't mean you can talk either Naruto! If you really want to be Hokage, you need to learn how to work with others and that starts here!" Kanoko growled waving her sword up and down.

"Kanoko-chan?" Said a voice behind her.

Kanoko was so lost in her rage at this point.

How _**dare**_ someone interrupt her while she was making a point! Couldn't they see she was busy?!

She yelled, "Can't you see your interrupting?!" while swinging her sword around to person behind her.

Cutting an orange book in half.

.

.

.

Naruto and Sakura had looks of amazement on their faces – that Kanoko was able to catch Kakashi-sensei off guard like that and land a blow (even if he, physically, wasn't hit).

Kanoko just straightened back into a standing position with a frown, berating herself for losing her control on her emotions and forgetting to always remain aware of her surroundings.

Kakashi however…

He was staring at the pages floating away in the wind…

.

He couldn't read his book anymore.

It was ruined.

FOREVER.

.

.

.

Kanoko started to turn around to grab Naruto and Sakura, so they could plan, away from Kakashi when she felt a sharp spike in negative energy flowing behind her.

She quickly jerked back around, while jumping back to where Naruto and Sakura were.

"It ruined…" Kakashi said in a lost, childlike voice.

.

That was the only warning Kanoko got, before a lightning fist flew her way.

.

Which is how she found herself at this moment, running through the woods.

Away from her sensei.

Who was trying to kill her.

.

In the end, Naruto, Sakura, and Kanoko proved they could work as a team (the fear of death was a powerful motivator) and all three of them were officially promoted to genin.

But no one on Team 7 ever talked about the events that took place in what was now dubbed as "Why Icha Icha Paradise is off limits".

And Kanoko…

She refused to answer any of her mother's questions when she fell, face first, at the front door; hair singed, clothes scorched with kunai holes, shoes full of dirt, and all of her supplies gone.

.

.

.

At least now she knew her Chakra Stealing Seal worked.


	12. Chapter 11

Kanoko stood tall with her arms crossed staring down at Naruto and Sakura.

Of course, the strong image was ruined by the several bandages on her face. After all, it had only been a day since they officially became genin, but Kanoko wanted to get started right away.

"Ok. Since we are officially a team, we need to know more about each other's skills. I'll go first." Kanoko ran through a series of hand signs before her shadow started to move.

"This is the Shadow Possession Jutsu. Shadow manipulation is what the Nara Clan's base many of their jutsus off of." Kanoko released her rat seal. "To be honest, you won't see me use that jutsu unless absolutely necessary. It is very draining to my chakra and only gets weaker the longer I hold a person."

Kanoko reached behind her to grab her sword. She swung it out, "My kenjutsu skills are strongest of all my assault abilities right now." She took a few different stances with her sword to demonstrate.

Putting her sword away, she opening her kunai pouch and pulled out a scroll. She held it out, "I also have measurable skills in fuinjutsu. Sakura, if you need storage or explosive seals, please let me know and I would be willing to provide you such."

Sakura just nodded before Naruto jumped up yelling, "Hey! How come you'll give Sakura-chan your secret scrolls, but not me?!"

Kanoko's eye twitched before saying, "You can make your own scrolls. I only offered them to Sakura because she is on my team and likely doesn't have any fuinjutsu skills."

"What is this fuinjutsu you keep talking about?! I don't remember hearing about it in the academy!" Naruto said with his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed.

"Idiot! That's because you skipped class like you always do!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, "Fuinjutsu is a type of jutsu that seal objects, living beings, chakra, along with a wide variety of other things within another object. Fūinjutsu can also be used to restrict movement or unseal objects either from within something or someone." Sakura finished, as if she read it straight out of the book.

Naruto still looked confused. Kanoko sighed, "You really don't know what fuinjutsu is? What kind of Uzumaki are you?", muttering the last part.

Naruto looked mad and was about yell when Sakura interrupted him, "What do you mean, "What kind of Uzumaki is he"?"

"… _I don't like where this is going…_ " Kanoko thought before answering. "The Uzumaki is a clan known for its proficiency in the art of sealing. They were also known for their vitality: large chakra reserves."

Naruto stared at Kanoko in wonder before asking softly, "I have a clan?"

Kanoko shifted nervously before looking away, "I'm not sure… Their village was very far from here and I haven't heard anyone speak of them."

Sakura was trying to add up the facts in her head, "Then… how do you know so much about them?"

Kanoko didn't look at either of them, "I… …read things." Kanoko said lamely before stating loudly, "Naruto! Let's see what you can do!"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, being interrupted from his thoughts.

"Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and I won't even bother asking about your genjutsu skills." Kanoko said flatly.

Naruto stood up quickly with a grin before shouting, "Haha! I'll show you my great and awesome jutsus! First Shadow Clone Jutsu!" And with that, at least 30 Naruto copies popped out of thin air.

Kanoko just stared bewildered before walking up to a clone and poking it. It didn't pop.

It was solid.

" _Impossible._ " Kanoko thought before turning back to the real Naruto. "Where did you learn this?!" Kanoko barked out.

Naruto giggled before saying, "Oh, just somewhere! It was super easy to master too!" He finished with a laugh, placing his hands on his hips.

Kanoko's eyebrow twitched, " _Super easy! Why you! It wasn't super easy to create, you bastard._ "

"Just show us your next jutsu, idiot!" Sakura said getting impatient.

"Aww! Sakura-chan… Why are you so mean…" Naruto said dispelling the clones and running through a few hand seals, "This one is 100% Uzumaki Naruto crafted! Sexy Jutsu!" Suddenly Naruto transformed into a naked and busty blonde.

A tick formed on Sakura's head and she tightened her fist. Kanoko just gave Naruto a bored look.

"NARUTOOO!" And was the only warning Naruto got.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined with tears in his eyes and bruises on his cheeks.

Kanoko sighed before crossing her arms again. " _They're children Tobirama. Just remember that they are children._ "

"Is that all Naruto?" Kanoko asked flatly.

"Well, I have other super awesome techniques, but they're super-secret, so I can't tell you." Naruto said with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

" _He doesn't know any other techniques, is what he means._ " Kanoko and Sakura thought at the same time.

"That just leaves you Sakura." Kanoko said turning to Sakura.

Sakura stared at Kanoko for a second, and then looked to Naruto, before shifting nervously with a small blush on her face, "Well… I know the transformation jutsu, and the clone jutsu… and the body replacement jutsu…"

*silence*

"Wow Sakura! You know all those jutsu?! That's so cool!" Naruto told Sakura, looking sincerely impressed.

Kanoko just stared at the both of them in shock, "Those… are all… wait… are you saying Naruto… both of you…?" " _That's all they know?! Breathe Tobirama, breathe._ "

"Ok, never mind. What about taijutsu and genjutsu? How are you in those subjects?" Kanoko asked trying to recover from her shock.

Sakura put a finger on her chin, looking up before answering, "Well, I'm not that good at taijutsu and I don't know any genjutsu, but I'm pretty good at identifying when I am in a genjutsu." Sakura finished with a smile.

" _I guess it goes without saying how under prepared clan-less ninja are._ " Kanoko thought, further thinking about the discrepancies between genin from clans, those not from clans, orphans, and those from civilian families.

"Ok, looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us. I'm going to be frank: We're going to train hard and I'm not letting Kakashi assign us any C-ranked missions until the both of you are efficient in at least two defensive jutsus." Kanoko finished with a flat tone and look.

"WHAAT?! WHO DIED AND MADE YOU LEADER?!" Naruto yelled, getting in Kanoko's face.

Kanoko simply pulled out a lighter, clicking it so fire came out and said, "I'll make good on my promise. Without regret."

"AHH! No, please don't burn down Ichiraku Ramen! WHAT DID RAMEN EVER DO TO YOU?!" Naruto yelled waving his hands.

"It continues to fuel your existence. That is how it has wronged me." Kanoko said flatly while closing her eyes.

Sakura snickered at that while Naruto just cried in the corner.

Kanoko pulled out two chakra nature squares before looking back up at Naruto and Sakura with a serious face, "Naruto. Sakura."

Naruto and Sakura looked back to Kanoko with curious expressions.

Kanoko took a deep breath and said, "It doesn't matter what you do, you may live and die as you like. However, no matter what road you end up taking, remember to protect the people that are precious to you."

Kanoko stopped at looked up to the stone faces above the village before continuing, "This way of thinking is known as the Will of Fire. A mission, promise, drive, whatever you want to call it, to protect the village: The place where all those precious to you can live in peace and happiness."

It was silent for a moment as the wind picked up and the leaves swirled by.

000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kanoko was standing in front of the doors leading into the Hokage's office.

She had spent the past 12 years telling herself to remain hidden. There were always a number of threats in the ninja world, many of which you could never foresee. In addition, Kanoko had yet to learn all of the changes that took place in her absence: inside and outside the village. The possibilities and dangers were endless, so she reasoned secrecy was her only option.

Opening her eyes to gaze at the doors again, she thought back to her new team: Team 7: Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei. It reminded her of a time before.

When she had students of her own.

She had asked Naruto and Sakura to trust to her completely: to fight together, defend each other, and support each other in their dreams.

And yet. Here she is. Reluctant to put her trust in her former student, someone she had entrusted the one thing that was most important to her: The village.

She tried to convince herself that her being Tobirama, in a small female body, didn't make any impact on the village and as such, the information would just be a burden to her former student.

But she had the mind of a former Hokage – that in itself warrants concern.

Which lead her down another path: Elimination.

Kanoko didn't even try to defend herself, in that if she was the Hokage and such a security risk was running around the village, that she wouldn't remove it – permanently. She did like to think that she would reconsider if the individual was Hashirama's reincarnation, but the safety of the village was always her prime concern.

Of course, there was the possibility that the Hokage would either: Laugh – not believing her, or, have her sent to T&I for suspicious behavior.

Kanoko had more than enough reasons to burry this little secret of hers.

But Kanoko had already made up her mind.

"The Hokage can see you now." A chunin said opening the door for Kanoko.

Kanoko looked at the chunin before walking in and stopping a distance from the Hokage's desk.

The Hokage looked up from a scroll before saying, "Ahh. Nara Kanoko is it? I was a little surprised to hear that you wanted to speak with me. You just passed your genin test, correct? And are on Team 7?" The Hokage finished with a kind smile.

Kanoko kept her expressionless gaze, "Hai. I am indeed on Team 7 and am now a genin."

"Haha, good! Well then, how can I help you?" The Hokage stared curiously at Kanoko.

Kanoko took a short look left and right. The Hokage picked up on her concern and said, "The Hokage's office is private. You don't have to worry about anyone overhearing things they should not know."

" _Expect for the ANBU protecting the Hokage… I'd rather they not listen in either. We'll see if this suffices._ " Kanoko thought before walking over to the desk and sliding a piece of paper to the Hokage slowly.

The Hokage's face dropped into a suspicious frown. Curious though, he grabbed it and opened it up.

 _I once told you, "Protect those who love the village and those who believe in you. And nurture those to whom you can entrust the next generation. Starting tomorrow, you are the Hokage."_

The Third Hokage looked up at Kanoko sharply before leaning back with a distrustful look. He gazed at the paper again, then at Kanoko. Kanoko neither move nor changed facial expressions. She simply stood and waited.

Hiruzen closed his eyes for a long period of time, debating in his head before he waved his hand, indicating to the hidden shinobi to leave.

Opening his eyes again he said, "Why should I trust your words? There were a number of shinobi that could have given you this information."

Kanoko, without a moment of pause responded, "Because all the shinobi present were loyal and honorable shinobi of the leaf. None would act in this manner."

The Hokage closed his eyes again, thinking, " _I can think of one, but sensei meant a lot to him, I'm not sure if he would do something like this._ "

Opening his eyes, he said, "I will need more information. What jutsu did you use to revive yourself? And why are you hiding as a child – a girl at that? Why now? Why not all those years ago - instead of naming me as Hokage?" Hiruzen had more questions, but settled on those for the moment.

Kanoko stared back at her formed student, "I did not use a jutsu to revive myself. How I came to be is a mystery, which I myself have yet to learn. I suspect an outside influence, but again, to what end? How does my presence – limited as it is now – advance another's goal? Your questions are well asked, but I do not have answers you seek. And Hiruzen, if you think time has weakened my memory of you – dismiss that thought. What is your real question?"

Ignore the Kanoko's question, the Third Hokage looked back at the girl with a hard look, "You leave me in a difficult position. You say you are Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage, **my** sensei, but all you have to show is a piece of paper with a quote – that may have not even been written by you." The Hokage crossed his arms, already coming to a decision.

"You're right." Kanoko said before following with, "I have given you an impossible truth with no collaborating facts. Honestly, the whole idea could be something I made up in my head and forced myself to believe."

The Third Hokage narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but Kanoko interrupted him, "That being said, there is one way to prove myself to you… I was hoping it wouldn't come to this… but it appears I have no choice."

Kanoko sighed before taking a deep breath and releasing it. She looked Hiruzen straight in the eyes as the Third Hokage had his full attention on Kanoko.

"I was starting to train you in the art of sealing, as your clan had a contract with the Monkey Tribe and you wanted to know more. After sending Koharu and Homura off on another task, I took you to the land of whirlpools. There, I taught you about different seals and introduced you to some of the Uzumaki clansmen…"

Hiruzen nodded, as he recognized the time, but still was not convinced that another couldn't have told Knaoko to say this – as many of the facts given were vague.

"…And after dropping you off to train, I ventured to the edge of the village. You started having difficulty with the mechanics of the seal, so you left to find me. It took a bit, but you eventually found me…"

Kanoko cleared her throat with a fist in front of her mouth. A small blush grew on her cheeks, "And I… Ahem… Was partaking in an accident ritual of appreciating the Uzumaki's clans… water activities…"

.

Kanoko was as red as a tomato.

Hiruzen was speechless. His eyes, blank circles.

.

.

.

The Third Hokage gazed away for a second, thinking of the memory before his nose started to bleed. Quickly, he composed himself with a cough.

"OK. Say I believe you…"

The Third Hokage's face went serious again, "What are your intentions?"

Kanoko's face went back to a stoic expression.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Shikamaru laid outside, in the grass with his hands behind his head, gazing up at the orange sky. His team had practiced their jutsu with each other earlier in the day and he had been relaxing on his hill ever sense.

Choji, who normally joined him, had to be home early tonight.

So here Shikamaru lay, alone on his hill, watching the clouds go by.

" _So I'm a genin now, huh? Such a drag..._ " He thought. He watched his sister train day and night and wonder if that was what was in store for him. He didn't like that thought. It sounded troublesome…

" _She's changed a lot. Or maybe not at all? Hmph, I can never get a read on her. Other girls are simple; scary, but predictable. They're always trying to improve themselves for some love interest. What's the point?_ " Shikamaru turned to the side to grab at some grass.

" _But Kanoko? She never looked twice at a guy she wasn't assessing for weaknesses. She never shows any emotion. Maybe irritation and on rare occasion anger, but happiness? Or love? I didn't even think she cared about her own family. She never shows it._ "

Shikamaru thought back to the Hibachi incident." _Outside of that moment…_ "

Shikamaru shift back onto his back and closed his eyes. " _She's so troublesome._ "

It wasn't long before he fell sound asleep, tired from the long and active day.

The blades of grass shifted as Kanoko walk up to her sleeping brother.

Normally,she would wake him up to walk home on his own, but she was feeling vulnerable today. She would never admit it out loud, but Shikamaru had warmed his way into her heart. She was truly beginning to see him as a brother: someone to hold and protect. She reasoned that she had felt this way from the first time he held onto her as an infant: Trusting her to keep him safe as he slept.

With a small, soft smile, Kanoko placed Shikamaru onto her back and started walking home slowly – as to not wake him up.

She stopped at the top of the hill and gazed down at the village.

" _It's time I grow up. I have to accept that I'm no longer just Senju Tobirama; I'm Nara Kanoko too. I now have people that are precious to me, no matter how much I resisted in the beginning."_

Images appear of a kitchen with Yoshino waving her wooden spoon at Shikaku, his hands in the air as a sign of peace…

...of Shikamaru, with his hands behind his head, laying in the grass with Choji munching beside him with a smile on his face…

…of Naruto and Sakura, helping dig Kanoko out of the ground, with bruises on their face, laughing at Kanoko's predicament…

…of Kakashi, as he gazed at the KIA stone, teaching them about the importance of friendship: that ninjas who abandon their friends are worse than scum…

..and of her brother, Hashirama, sharing with her his dream, and his love for the village.

" _I have to find the will to become stronger, braver, wiser, kinder; to protect those precious to me, who love the village and who believe in me._ "

.

An outline of a girl with a boy on her back, the orange sun setting in the background, was all that was visible, as she walked away, into the distance.


	13. Chapter 12

*click* "Ok. Are you in position?"

*click* "Sakura here. I'm at point C."

*click* "Kanoko, point B."

*click* "Uzumaki Naruto, at position A. Believe it!"

*click* "Go slow Naruto…"

Kanoko was crouching behind a tree; her chakra reaching out to identify the target.

*click* "Ok, squad 7-"

Kanoko felt the target take off at an exceptional rate towards Naruto.

*click* "Target has moved!" Kanoko barked out over the radio.

*click* "Follow it!" Kakashi-sensei commanded.

Kanoko, Sakura, and Naruto all took off in pursuit. The target stopped in a small clearing, while Kanoko and her team stayed hidden behind trees nearby.

*click* "What's its position?"

*click* "5 meters. I'm ready! Just give me the signal!" Naruto whispered over the radio, excited.

*click* "Ok… NOW!"

Naruto and Sakura leaped to control the target, while Kanoko watched from a safe distance, " _Hmph, the manner in which Shikamaru whined about this cat, you'd think it came straight from the depths of hell. I'll let Naruto handle this one…_ "

And just as explained to her by her brother, once Naruto latched on, the cat proceeded to claw is face out.

Naruto screamed, "I hate cats!"

* * *

"Hehehe! Stupid cat! It deserves to get squashed!" Naruto cheered watching the infamous cat, Tora, get roughly hugged by her owner.

Once Tora and her owner left, the Hokage looked at the scrolls in front of him, "Congratulations on your mission, now let's see…" The Hokage started listing off several D-ranked missions.

Kakashi stood behind his students, looking bored out of his mind. Sakura was slightly pouting over not being taken seriously, but wasn't going to complain in front of the Hokage. Kanoko just gazed ahead with no expression, understanding the importance of completing D-rank missions at this point in time.

Naruto… However…

"NO! No more! I'm done babysitting!" He said with his forearms forming an "X".

Iruka, upset with Naruto's rudeness to the Hokage, yelled at him about knowing his place as a genin.

After Kakashi whacked Naruto, to prevent him from further embarrassing Kakashi-sensei in front of the Hokage, the Hokage started explaining the ninja ranking system.

Of course, none of them were listening…

"…And so I had this taigatsu ramen today-" Naruto told his team, completely ignoring the Hokage.

"Silence!" The Hokage shouted to the group.

Kakashi looked back at the Hokage with a sheepish look, before scratching the back of his head, "Oh? Sorry…"

Naruto swung back around to face the Third Hokage before yelling, "Stop treating me like you're my grandpa! I'm not some brat anymore! I'm a real ninja now, and I want to go on real ninja missions!"

With that Naruto turned his head upward and crossed his arms.

Kakashi shook his head thinking, " _Ahhh… I'm going to hear about this later…_ "

The Third Hokage just started chuckling, before it turned into a full deep laugh. He leaned back for a second, then gazed over at Kanoko.

" _I don't like that look…_ " Kanoko though, narrowing her eyes.

"Naruto wants us to know that he's no longer a brat. He's a former brat! And he wants a mission. So be it."

Naruto looked up a bit shocked before smiling, "Huh?"

The Hokage continued, "Since you are so determined, I'll give you a C-ranked mission: You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

Kanoko's eyes grew a little at that announcement, " _The old fool! What does he think he's doing?! Team 7 isn't ready for a mission like this!_ "

Naruto's face kept getting brighter, "Really?! YES! Who?! Who?! Is it a princess? Or an important councilman?!"

The Hokage smirked, "Don't be so impatient. Let our visitor in now, please."

Kanoko glared at the door, not at all interested in what was about to walk through.

Once the doors opened, an older man walked in, holding a large jar of what smelled like sake.

"What the…? A bunch of little snot nose brats?" He then proceeded to take a large swig of his drink before finishing, "And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really think you're going to expect me to think that **you're** a ninja?"

Naruto laughed and asked, "Who's the little of with the idio-" Naruto stopped when Kanoko and Sakura moved closer to demonstrate: Sakura stood at 4 feet and 11 inches and Kanoko measured at 5 feet even. Naruto finished at a sorry 4 feet and 9 inches.

"WHY YOU! I'm GOING TO DEMOLISH YOU! " Naruto yelled, starting to make a run for him, only to be grabbed by Kakashi-sensei. "You can't harm the client Naruto."

The man looked serious as he told Team 7, "My name is Tazuna: A master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I am building a bridge there that will change our world. And I expect you to get me there safely, even if it costs you your life!"

* * *

Kanoko walked through her bedroom door to pack for the trip to the Land of Waves, starting tomorrow morning. She started counting her explosive tags when her brother walked in and flopped on the bed, face first, next to her.

Having become used to her brother's behavior, Kanoko didn't look up from her task.

Her brother shifted until he was sitting up, at which point he gazed over her shoulder and asked, "Are you planning on blowing your team out of the training grounds tomorrow?" Shikamaru had an eyebrow raised at the amount of tags in front of her.

Kanoko didn't turn to her brother and just simply answered, "No. Team 7 has its first C-ranked mission tomorrow in the Land of Waves."

Shikamaru looked at his sister with a small up-turn frown in his eyebrows, "A C-rank mission so soon? Does Tou-san know?"

Kanoko shrugged, "I doubt it. It was a last minute decision by the Hokage."

Shikamaru was even more confused, "Huh? Why would he do that?"

Kanoko just looked at her brother with zero emotion, "Naruto."

"Ah."

Shikamaru laid down again on his side. It was silent again before he asked, "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Two weeks. Maybe more."

The room was quiet again. Shikamaru had his eyes closed, trying to take a small nap before his mother started yelling at him about chores, but couldn't get asleep.

"Did you pack your kunai?" He asked, sitting up suddenly and looking into his sister's pack.

Kanoko stared back at him with an unimpressed look, "Hai. Of course."

Shikamaru's face turned slightly red before he jerked his head away mumbling, "Troublesome… I was just asking a question…"

Shikamaru turned his face back around when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His sister was staring at him straight in the eyes.

"Onii-san. It's just a C-rank mission. I'm not so weak to be bested so easily."

Shikamaru looked away, not really trusting her judgement. Kanoko sighed internally before continuing, "I'm going to be ok. I promise."

Kanoko then smiled slightly, although it looked more like a smirk, "I don't have a choice, otherwise, who is going to make sure that your slacking doesn't get you killed one day?"

Shikamaru blushed again, but this time was irritated at his sister for embarrassing him. As if he needed a **girl** to protect him!

Shikamaru laid back down, not really feeling better about his sister's mission, but trusting her – a little.

"Troublesome girl. Just don't get killed. All your chores would fall to me and that would be a major drag." After that, he fell asleep.

Kanoko shook her head with a smirk before continuing to pack for the journey ahead.

If she was being honest, she didn't have a good feeling about this mission…

* * *

"YAAAHOOO!" Naruto shouted jump into the air, once he step outside the village gates.

Sakura clasped her hands on her backpack straps, asking is an annoyed tone, "What's your problem, Naruto?"

Naruto snickered before explaining how this was the first time out of the village.

Kanoko wasn't too surprised to hear that. The only time she had been out of the village (in this body) was with her father. It made sense that if Naruto didn't know anyone with business taking them outside the village that he wouldn't venture past the walls.

"This is really the brat that is going to protect me? Great. Here's to living a short life." Tazuna scoffed before taking another swig of his booze.

Naruto, of course, was offended and went for Tazuna again, "Hey! I'll let you know that I'm going to be Hokage one day! So you should feel honored to be protected by the great Uzumaki Naruto!"

Tazuna raised an eyebrow, "You? Hokage? I'd sooner sprout wings."

Naruto growled, "I'm going to be Hokage one day and then everyone will have to treat me with respect! Believe it!"

Trying to appease the client, Kakashi-sensei said, "I'm a jounin, and I can assure you that we are more than adequate to protect you."

Tazuna just, "Hmph" before walking towards the Land of Waves.

*blip*

Kanoko's attention was suddenly diverted when she felt two chakra signatures.

Team 7 was still just outside the gates, so Kanoko wondered if they were returning ninjas.

Only problem, they stopped moving – right where Team 7 was positioned.

* * *

After a few miles, Sakura asked about the Land of Waves and if they had any ninja. Kanoko listened loosely to the conversation. She was very interested in how the lands have changed and who the major powers were, but was also on high alert.

The chakra signatures from earlier were following them.

Kanoko knew that these ninja weren't as clever in their stealth tactics as they believed, so either Kakashi knew about them and had a plan, or… he didn't. In which case, he was useless and this all relied on Kanoko now…

She honestly didn't believe the latter was true, but the concept of taking chances or letting ones guard down had looong since left her.

Of course, when Kakashi reassured Sakura that there would be no ninja fights on a C-ranked mission, she nearly scoffed. She berated her sensei in her head for filling his students with both nonsense and false hope.

Just as Team 7 and Tazuna passed a puddle (which was obviously the ninjas henged), they sprang out for a surprise attack.

Naruto, Sakura, and Kanoko all turned around as they watched, in horror, Kakashi-sensei get caught in their ninjas' chain – and ripped to pieces.

" _That IDIOT!_ " Kanoko thought activating her Chakra Draining Seal, she saw them fly over and run straight for Naruto.

Kanoko quickly ran through a series of hand signs, " _Body Replacement Jutsu_ ". Standing in her spot was Naruto, and in his was Kanoko.

The dual ninjas reached out for her, on either side, with the chain they shared following in-between.

Kanoko drew her sword and ducked left, underneath the chain. "Water Style: Water Blade!" She shouted and brought the sword, covered in raging waves, down on the enemy ninja.

Slicing off his arm.

Grabbing the detached arm, she pulled it towards her roughly, bringing the other ninja – attached by the chain – to her.

Kanoko formed a tiger seal, "Water Style: Liquid Bullet!" She yelled, a ball of water shot from her mouth towards the ninja she pulled her way. The ninja detached the chain, evading the hit, and both teleported to the other side of the clearing.

They each took a stance, and then charged separately: One heading for Naruto and the other Tazuna.

Sakura, took a defensive stance in front of Tazuna, " _DO something Sakura! You have to do something!_ " Sakura thought, berated herself while holding a kunai in front of her before yelling, "Stay behind me!" to Tazuna.

" _Damnit!_ " Kanoko hadn't been able to steal any of their chakra, and she used too much with that water style jutsu.

Kanoko quickly got down on her knee and formed, " _Bird, Boar, Dog, Dragon, Ox, Tiger, Serpent, Rat, Horse, Monkey, Hare, Ram!_ " "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Kanoko spit her shadow, extending it to the enemy ninjas.

It didn't make contact.

Because they were both being held in the air be none other than Kakashi-sensei.

Naruto and Sakura both looked up to Kakashi-sensei with joyful looks.

"Yo!" Was Kakashi's response.

" _Are you kidding me? I bust my ass keeping my team and client safe, and this rut comes in and "saves the day" and now he's the hero? Hmph, show off._ " Kanoko thought, her blood boiling.

Naruto, from his place on the ground, looked over to where Kakashi "died" and saw wood pieces, " _Kakashi-sensei… used the replacement jutsu!_ "

Kakashi started to walk toward Tazuna and Sakura, before turning his head back and telling Naruto, "Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt." Kakashi paused before adding, "I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that."

Naruto looked down at his injured hand - mad at himself for getting scared.

Kanoko got up on her feet and quickly made her to Naruto, but not before meeting Kakashi-sensei's eye and shooting him a nasty look.

Kakashi sweat-dropped before saying, "Good job Kanoko and Sakura."

Sakura started to smile, but when she looked over at Kanoko and saw her disgusted look, she frowned – not wanting to upset Kanoko.

Kanoko grabbed Naruto's hand, taking a look at it closely.

Naruto wasn't paying attention though. He was beating himself up internally for being useless.

Kakashi-sensei then turned to Tazuna, questioning him, "I wanted to see who the ninja were targeting. I thought it was one of us, but funny enough, it was you, Tazuna."

Tazuna looked scared and started to shake before he fell to his knees.

"You have to understand! This bridge means a lot to my country! We are currently being starved, beaten and murdered by a man named Gato! He has taken over all of the docks and ships, so no one can leave either. We need this bridge to survive!" Tazuna was in tears at this point.

Naruto listened closely to Tazuna, completely buying into the story.

"Well, based on the facts, this mission is easily a B-rank and could turn into an A-rank. And lying to us means that we are now beyond the scope of our mission." Kakashi-sensei finished.

Sakura looked back to Kakashi and said, "We're genin, this is too much for us. We have to go back." Kanoko nodded, agree with Sakura, "We also need to take Naruto back to the village. It's likely his wound has been poisoned and none of us have the expertise to remove poisons."

Kakashi looked back at Naruto and lazily said, "I guess you're right. Naruto's hand will likely pose a problem. I guess we have to go back because of Naruto."

" _That little shit! He did that purposely! There's no way Naruto is going to back down now._ " Kanoko thought, getting angrier at her sensei.

Naruto ripped his hand from Kanoko's, surprising her, and bring a kunai down onto it – causing blood to go everywhere.

"WHY am I so DIFFERENT?! Why am I always… AHH!" Naruto said, gritting his teeth in pain.

"Naruto!" Sakura chastised him.

Naruto didn't move, just held his hand and continued, "I worked too hard to get here. Pushing myself. Training alone for hours. Anything to get stronger to reach my dream… I will never back down and let someone else rescue me! I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke or Kanoko! Upon this wound, I make this pledge. Believe it." Still not turning around, Naruto says, "Bridge builder, I will complete this mission and protect you, with this kunai knife."

With that, Naruto turns around, kunai still in his hand, impacted in his other and grins painfully, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Sakura and Tazuna just stared at Naruto in shock and awe. Kakashi had a small smile hidden underneath his mask.

Kanoko just stared at Naruto.

One part of her was irritated with Naruto's reckless behavior.

The other part of her however…

He reminded her of someone she used to know…

Kanoko closed her eyes and smirked, " _After a speech like that… I guess we have no choice._ "

* * *

Team 7 was currently relaxing on a boat, drifting across the water in the thick mist. Naruto was jumping around and talking loudly, which earned him a punch from Sakura.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whined, holding his bruise head.

Sakura stopped glaring at Naruto and turned to Kanoko, who was relaxing with her arms crossed. Kanoko opened one eye to gaze at Sakura and asked, "Yes?"

"Well, I noticed that markings appeared on your arm just after those ninja attacked, but now they're gone again…" Sakura asked while pointing at Kanoko's left arm.

Kakashi-sensei and Naruto were also curious and were watching Kanoko for an answer. Kanoko moved her gaze to Tazuna and then the boat owner, and shrugged, "I'll tell you later."

Naruto's face contorted into a pout, whining loudly, "Whaaa? Why?!"

Sakura shushed him before Kakashi-sensei said, "Ninja arts are meant to be secret from outsiders. Kanoko doesn't want to reveal information that can be used against her in the presence of those she does not trust. It's smart. You should learn from Kanoko, Naruto."

Naruto just glared daggers at Kanoko, thinking, " _Yeah right! I'm going to be ten-times better than Kanoko! Believe it!_ "

After pulling up to shore, the gang walked through a tree covered area, making their way to Tazuna's home.

Naruto, eager to prove himself, was running around throwing kunai at every noise he heard. It was scaring Tazuna and Sakura, and frying Kanoko's nerves: frantically searching for threats each time Naruto jumped at a noise.

After nearly killing a poor snow bunny, Sakura whacked Naruto on the head and started yelling at him.

" _It's like being quiet is some kind of mystical concept to them._ " Kanoko thought annoyed, before she felt a sharp spike in the surrounding chakra.

"EVERYONE! GET DOWN" Kakashi shouted.

A giant sword flew through the air and hit a tree.

Teleporting onto of this sword was a ninja.

A ninja of the Village Hidden in the Mist.

" _This is it! My chance to shine! I'm not going to lose out to Kanoko!_ " Naruto thought, looking back at Kanoko, who had her gaze fixated on the ninja above.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Momochi Zabuza: rouge ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi said calmly, walking up to Zabuza.

" _Rouge ninja? Whatever! Nothing's going to stop me!_ " Naruto thought before running towards Zabuza.

" _Idiot, he's going to get himself killed!_ " Kanoko thought, getting her sword out.

Kakashi-sensei stuck his arm out, blocking Naruto from going further, "Get back. You're in the way."

"What, but-!" Naruto started.

"He's not like those other ninja. He is in a whole 'nother league." Kakashi stopped before continuing, "If he's our opponent, I'm going to need this." Kakashi pulled up his headband and opened his eye.

" _The sharingan._ " Kanoko thought, eyes narrowing.

"What is that?!" Sakura asked. Kanoko looked at Sakura, surprised she didn't know – seeing as Sakura's longtime crush was an Uchiha.

Deciding to answer, she said, "It's the sharingan. A dojutsu kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan. Not all members possess it, however. But I was unaware non-Uchiha members could use it as well, but I suppose that is why they call him the "copycat ninja"."

Naruto and Sakura looked at Kakashi-sensei in wonder.

" _Uchiha? As in Sasuke Uchiha?_ " Naruto and Sakura thought.

Suddenly Zabuza drawled out, "Kakashi of the Sharingan, huh? Well it's too bad. I'm going to have to kill the old man."

A thick mist came over the area quickly.

Kanoko, Sakura, and Naruto took protective positions around Tazuna.

"So I'll have to eliminate you first Kakashi? Heh, so be it." With that, Zabuza teleported onto the water and started a jutsu, causing more mist to fill the area.

Then he vanished.

Kanoko crouched down from her defensive stance to touch the ground with her pointer and middle finger. She pushed her senses out – attempting to locate the enemy.

"Where is he?!" Naruto cried out.

Kakashi walked in front of Team 7, with his back to Kanoko, and said, "He'll come for me first. Don't worry."

"But who is he?" Sakura asked.

"Zabuza of the Hidden Mist Village: The ex-leader of the village's assassination unit. He is a master of the silent killing technique."

"S-silent?" Naruto stuttered.

Kakashi continued, "It's so fast, you pass from this life without realizing it. The sharingan can't fully neutralize it, so **don't lower your guard**."

As an added bonus, Kakashi-sensei says, "Well, if we fail, we only lose out lives."

"How can you say that?!" Sakura snaps at Kakashi-sensei.

The mist gets thicker again.

Sakura yells, "Sensei!" as the mist causes Kakashi's image to disappear.

" _Oh, look at this. He abandoned us again._ " Kanoko thought, not impressed. She could still feel him nearby, but the emotional turmoil (which he seems to enjoy putting Naruto and Sakura through) is getting old.

"8 points." Is what Team 7 hears from the mist.

Sakura gasps as he continues, listing all areas of the body that, if hit, would be fatal.

"Which will be my kill point?"

More silence follows until Kakashi moves the mist away from him and Team 7, but at that moment, the killing aura magnifies.

Kanoko looks to Naruto – barely a reaction. Then to Sakura. She's shaking, but holding up.

Kanoko is shocked and impressed by them both. The clash of two powerful jounin is nothing to casually ignore. The killing aura alone should have them both paralyzed, but they're handling it better than she thought.

Kakashi, wanting to calm his students, says, "I'll protect you. I won't allow my comrades to die."

Naruto and Sakura calm at this news.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

" _He's coming from the left!_ " Kanoko thought, quickly taking a defensive stance with her sword, awaiting the blow.

"It's over."

.

Before Zabuza and Kanoko's swords clashed, Kakashi-sensei rammed a kunai into his stomach.

.

But.

Instead of blood, there's water pouring out.

"Sensei!" Naruto screams, seeing a clone appear behind Kakashi-sensei.

"Die!" Zabuza yells, ripping his sword through Kakashi.

Naruto and Sakura are shocked, but Kanoko quickly appeases them, "Don't worry. Sensei's alive." Just then, his body turns into water – indicating that Kakashi copied Zabuza's water clone jutsu.

Kakashi then appeared behind him, with a kunai to his throat.

"Now it's over." Kakashi said simply.

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto cheered and even Sakura laughed in joy.

.

Zabuza chuckled, "I won't be defeated by a copycat..."

"…Because I'm not that easy to fool." Suddenly, Zabuza turned into water and was behind Kakashi.

Kakashi and Zabuza traded a few blows before getting kick in the air and into the water. Zabuza followed Kakashi into the water.

" _I can't believe Kakashi-sensei got kicked through the air like that!_ " Sakura thought, shocked and worried.

"SENSEI! THAT'S NOT NORMAL WATER! GET OUT OF THERE!" Kanoko shouted roughly to her sensei.

Kakashi looked up at Kanoko, but it was too late.

"Ha! Fool." Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and ran through a series of hand signs, "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"

" _No!_ " Kakashi thought too late.

Zabuza chuckled, "This prison is made of water, but is stronger than steel. Ha! So much for the great Kakashi. I'll finish you off later." Zabuza turned his head to Naruto, Sakura, and Kanoko. "I'll have to take care of your little friends first."

Zabuza made a water clone.

Zabuza's clone turned to them and said, "When you've hovered between life and death so many times that it doesn't faze you, you may be called a ninja. When you've become so deadly that your profile has been entered into my bingo book, then you may have earned the title ninja."

He started to disappear again, but not before finishing, "To call upstarts like you ninja… is a joke!"

" _He disappeared again!_ " Naruto thought in a panic.

" _He's going for Naruto!_ " Kanoko threw a kunai in Zabuza direction, but Zabuza was still able to kick Naruto, sending him back – his headband failing off of his head.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled concerned.

As Zabuza landed, he stomped his foot down on Naruto's headband.

Kakashi growled before yelling, "Listen! Get the bridge builder and get out of here! You can't win this fight! He can only fight with his clone, but it can't go too far from his body. Run!"

Kanoko gritted her teeth, " _That will only protect us for so long. And I can sense another ninja not too far from here. It's safe to assume that this other ninja, and Zabuza, are comrades._ " Kanoko looked at Naruto and Sakura, both were shaking.

Taking a deep breath, Kanoko told her teammates, "Our only option is to rescue Kakashi-sensei. Don't be reckless, fall back on your training, and don't panic." Kanoko looked at both of them, "I believe in you. Do you believe in me?"

Naruto and Sakura looked at Kanoko. They took a breath and calmed down slightly, before grinning with confidence.

Naruto laughed and asked, "What's the plan?!"

Kanoko smirked at Naruto, "There's only one person with the right amount of spunk and is unpredictable enough to face this enemy. And that is you, Naruto."

Kanoko looked to Sakura for approval. Sakura nodded with a grin.

"So what's the plan, Uzumaki?" Kanoko asked Naruto.

Naruto's face got even brighter, before running straight for Zabuza.

Sakura's jaw dropped and she put her hands on her head, "Ahhh! Naruto! What are you doing?!"

After Naruto got kicked by Zabuza and flew back to where Kanoko and Sakura stood. Both could see what was now in Naruto's hand: His leaf village headband.

" _That reckless little…*sigh*_ " Kanoko thought, with a small grin.

Naruto's grin grew before saying, "Ok guys! Let's go wild!"

Before they could begin, they were interrupted by Tazuna, "Forget about me! Do what you have to do! Don't hold back! Go ahead and fight to save your sensei!"

"Old man…" Naruto said quietly, looking back at him.

" _He's really die for ninjas he barely knows…?_ " Kanoko thought.

Zabuza started to chuckle before barking out several laughs. When Naruto asked him what was so funny, he started to explain his village's genin selection ritual. Or at least, the ritual until one child, not even at genin age yet, massacred the whole class.

"…And it felt soo good." Zabuza finished, charging towards Kanoko.

Kanoko jumped backwards, evading Zabuza's movements and attacks.

"You're pretty good. You were about to block my attacked earlier too… You must be a sensor. I pretty good one, if you're able to identify me from the chakra infused mist surrounding us."

Kanoko didn't respond. She simply led him over to Naruto.

"Stop right there! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, bringing forth 30 clones, all surrounding Zabuza.

All of them race to attack Zabuza, but were pushed back and popped by Zabuza's sword.

"He's too powerful!" Tazuna yelled in fear.

Kanoko, with her arms crossed, watching the fight, simply said, "Don't worry. You trust us, right?"

Tazuna just gapped at Kanoko before nodding slightly.

"I still have this!" Naruto yelled as he flew through the air, reaching in his backpack.

"Kanoko!" Naruto yelled throwing a large shuriken at Kanoko. Kanoko jumped up and grabbed it.

"Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows!" Kanoko shouted before jumping in the air and throwing it at Zabuza.

The real one.

It flew pass the clone and went for the real Zabuza.

Unfortunately, Zabuza grabbed it, but not before a second one flew his way.

" _A second one?!_ " Zabuza thought.

" _The second shuriken's on target and he can't catch this one!_ " Sakura thought.

.

Zabuza jumped over the shuriken.

"I told you a shuriken wouldn't touch me!" Zabuza barked out.

Kanoko smirked.

*poof*

In the shuriken's place was Naruto. He had henged as the shuriken.

"Take this!" Naruto yelled as he threw his kunai at Zabuza

" _What!?_ " Zabuza thought, ready to pull away.

" _YES!_ " Sakura cheered and even Kanoko had a smirk on her face.

.

*SPLASH*

The water clone, from before, jumped in front of Zabuza – taking the hit.

" _NO!_ " Kakashi thought, panicking for his students.

"What?!" Sakura yelled.

"DAMNIT!" Naruto screamed, falling into the water.

Zabuza chuckled, then laughed, "You forgot about my clone. You're mistake!" Zabuza started running through seals with his free hand.

Kakashi struggled in his cage before yelling, "NARUTO! GET OUT OF THERE!" " _I'm so sorry sensei! I'm sorry, I couldn't protect your son!_ " Kakashi thought, pain running through his gut.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed.

"Haha! You're finished!" Zabuza crackled.

Naruto closed his eyes, waiting for the impact.

But it never came.

Just as Zabuza was forming his last seal, his hands stopped moving.

Actually, his whole body stopped moving.

"…Shadow Possession Jutsu, complete." Kanoko said with a slight smirk on her face.

" _Impossible!_ " Zabuza thought, still unable to move.

In the water, Naruto was laughing, "HAHA! We got you! You totally fell for it!"

Without further pause, Kanoko side stepped, making Zabuza lose the hold he had on the water prison jutsu.

Kakashi-sensei was now free to wreak havoc.

.

And boy, did he look pissed.


	14. Chapter 13

"You know, you're a special kind of jounin."

Kakashi stirred slowly in the make-shift bed. Opening his eye, he looked to his surroundings. He was in a room… Huh. He didn't remember getting here.

" _I guess I over did it with the Sharingan._ " Kakashi thought, trying to sit up, but falling back down instead.

Then he remembered. He woke up to someone talking to him. He turned his head again and saw one of his students leaning against the wall: Kanoko.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

Kanoko kept her eyes close before saying, "I said you're a special kind of jounin…"

A warm feeling grew in Kakashi, believing his student was paying him a compliment.

"…It certainly takes a special kind of stupid to allow your student to get poisoned, get trapped in a cage made of water, have to rely on your students to bail you out, and then later pass out due to chakra exhaustion while the threat has yet to be neutralized. And that's all in the first week of being a jounin instructor." Kanoko finished in a flat, uncaring tone, and arms crossed.

Kakashi felt like he just received several kunai to his back.

" _So hurtful…_ " Kakashi thought.

Then he jerked up. Last he remembered, he had faced Zabuza in a battle of water jutsu. After nearly finishing him, a Mist ANBU Hunter Nin attacked Zabuza, finishing him off. Kakashi even remembered checking his pulse. What did Kanoko mean by, "the threat has yet to be neutralized".

Kanoko opened her eyes to stare at Kakashi, "The hunter nin. He watched the entire fight from the shadows. If his real interest was Zabuza's death, he would have intervened when the odd of us winning were at its lowest: When you were caged."

Kakashi looked at Kanoko with narrowed eyes, "How come you didn't tell me there were other threats in the area?"

Kanoko shrugged, thinking, " _I was a little busy cleaning up your mess._ "

" _Brat._ " Kakashi thought, deciding against further arguing with his student. It was pointless anyways and there were bigger concerns.

At this moment, Naruto and Sakura came in. "Sensei! You're awake!" Naruto spoke loudly.

After sitting down, Kakashi-sensei explained to them and Tazuna's family about Zabuza's likely survivial. Naruto, of course, was happy by this news – as only he would – because it meant he had another chance to take Zabuza down.

"Sensei you said that we need to prepare quickly, but how are we going to do that, when you can barely move?" Sakura asked, concerned.

Kakashi's eye turned into a smile and said, "Well, I can still train you."

Sakura jumped up and yelled, "Hold on! A little last minute training is not going to help us last against someone like Zabuza! We have to be reasonable about this!"

" _It's like… Only the women are sane ones in this timeframe… Well, except for Yoshino… That's always debatable._ " Kanoko thought, a small smile forming on her face, thinking about her family.

" _I wonder what they're doing right now…_ " Kanoko thought, gazing out the window, ignoring her team's ramblings.

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"What a drag…" Shikamaru said, walking down Konoha's streets, looking for a certain building.

"I wouldn't worry so much… *munch* *munch* Shikamaru. It's just a C-ranked mission." Choji said walking next to his best friend, munching on some chips.

Shikamaru turned his head to Choji and gave him a blank look before saying, "*sigh* It's just troublesome… I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Ok buddy. If you want to talk, I'm here for you." Choji told his friend.

"Thanks Choji." Shikamaru said with sincerity.

Arriving at the Hokage's tower, Shikamaru waved bye to Choji before walking in and making his way for his father's office.

After talking to the chunin at the front, he was escorted to where his father was.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Shikaku asked, dismissing a shinobi he was speaking with.

Shikamaru extended his arm out, holding a box wrapped in a green cloth. "You left your lunch at home. Again. Kaa-san told (threatened) me to bring it to you." Shikamaru explained in a bored tone.

Scratching his head, he laughed, "I suppose I did forget it. Bad habit, I suppose." Shikaku grabbed the bento box from his son and placed it on his desk. He looked at it for a moment, still scratching the back of his head.

Shikamaru made a move to leave when he heard his father say, "You know… Your sister brought me my lunch every day. Said something about how it's improper to allow your stomach to growl when meeting and discussing important village decisions, or something like that."

Shikaku looked at his son and chuckled, "Your sister is something else isn't she?"

Shikamaru stared at his father with a bland look before shrugging.

Barking out a deep laugh, Shikaku told his son, "Did you know she once told the Hokage that he was an idiot for not hiring a secretary or five to handle all of his paperwork? The Hokage was in shock! If it was because some 8 year-old had the guts to insult him or because he effectively wasted the last several years of his life to paperwork he didn't even need to do, I don't know."

Shikaku looked back to his desk before continuing, "But his face was priceless." He let out a few more chuckles before he walked over to Shikamaru and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That's why I know she'll come home safe and sound. She's clever and is always thinking in practicalities. The world may be still black and white to her, but somehow, that makes her even more invulnerable. I'm not always sure how she does it, but she always manages." Shikaku smiled warmly at his son before turning back to his desk and grabbing some paperwork.

A last wave to Shikamaru, Shikaku said, "Have faith in her promise to you."

Shikamaru just walked out, not responding to his father just shrugging and walking away.

Shikaku smirked as he opened his lunch, " _That boy… Both him and his sister… They're going to be a rathter interesting force to be reckoned with in the future._ "

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Kanoko stared at Kakashi.

Kakashi stared back at her.

.

.

.

"No." Kanoko said firmly, closing her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Come on Kanoko-chan!" Kakashi whined like a little kid.

"No." Kanoko firmed again. She had sucessfully dealt with a whiny Hashirama and a lazy Shikamaru. Kakashi was nothing.

"Pretty please!" Kakashi begged with his hands pressed together.

"No!" Kanoko was getting irritated.

"*sigh* I guess if that's your decision…" Kakashi said.

"It is." Kanoko agreed, finally calming, now that Kakashi had stopped bugging her.

.

Kakashi's eye glinted evilly.

Kanoko stood quickly, "You wouldn't dare-"

"NARUTO! SAKURA! KANOKO'S GOING TO TEACH YOU A REALLY AMAZING AND AWESOME NINJA SKILL!" Kakashi yelled from his bed.

Naruto and Sakura both came running, running over each other and pushing the other out of the way. Once they got into the room, they both looked up at Kanoko with innocent, childlike eyes.

Kanoko backed away with a disturbed look, before glaring at Kakashi, "I. Hate. You."

"Awww. That's so sweat Kanoko-chan! I feel the same way about you!" Kakashi said with a small crackle.

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"I wanna know! What is it?! What is this amazing and awesome skill?! Why won't you tell us?! How come you're leading us into the woods?!1 Why-"

"SHUT UP NARUTO!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, whacking him from behind.

"…Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined looking back at Sakura.

Kanoko just kept moving before stopping in front of some trees, "We're here."

Naruto and Sakura looked around before asking, "What are we doing here?"

Kanoko threw two kunai out. Each one landed on a tree, near the peak. "You both are going to go up there and grab it, but there are conditions…"

Kanoko looked back at the two of them, "You going to grab it by slowly walking up your tree. As practice, you can take a running start, but for you to pass, you must show me you can do it slowly."

Sakura looked confused and asked, "How are we supposed to do that?"

Kanoko bent down and grabbed a leaf. She focused on it, and then turned her hand upside down. The leaf did not fall.

"WOW! How did you do that? Is it some kind of trick?" Naruto asked, sticking his face close to Kanoko's hand, trying to look for wires or glue.

"No. Naruto, you know how in order to complete the Shadow Clone Jutsu, you must make hand signs, and then force some chakra out to form them?"

"Yeah. I have to do that with all my jutsus…" Naruto said placing his chin on his fist in thought.

"Instead of flushing the chakra out, you're going to train yourself by limiting the amount of chakra you use. In doing this, you'll be able to attach yourself to things like this leaf or that tree, or a kunai."

Naruto's face contorted, trying hard to understand what Kanoko was saying.

Sighing internally, she started again, "Think of it like this. You're at home, in your bathroom and you want to brush your teeth. First, you need to get your toothbrush wet. You could turn the faucet on max, but it would just splash everywhere – making a mess – when you only need a little bit for your toothbrush. The solution is that you don't turn your faucet on all the way, but limit how much is coming out."

A light bulb lit up in Naruto's head and he slammed his fist into his hand saying, "Oh! I got it! So how do we go that?"

Kanoko sighed, this time out loud, "First, I want you to focus on your chakra." Kanoko sat down, crisscrossed motioning Sakura and Naruto to follow.

"But Kanoko! We know how to do this part already!" Sakura whined.

Kanoko gave them bother a pointed look.

Closing her eyes, she continued, "Focus on the chakra within you. Chakra starts in the stomach and flows out to your body. Focus on your chakra and move it to your feet. Do this a few times."

Naruto and Sakura both sat, eye closed focusing on moving their chakra. After a good amount of time, Kanoko indicated from them to stand.

"Now that you have felt yourself move your chakra, I want to you walk over to the tree and stick your foot out onto the tree. Once you have done that, push out your chakra, in an attempt to stick to it. Don't try to run up the tree and don't get mad if you don't stick. We're not there yet." Kanoko warned, giving Naruto a pointed look.

He laughed nervously before going over and doing as he was told – surprisingly.

Kanoko observed as their first attempt ripped the bark off of the tree.

"What?! Why did it do that?!" Naruto asked, confused.

"You applied too much chakra. You need to apply enough chakra to stick, but not so much that the tree cracks underneath." Kanoko explained.

Kanoko walked over to Naruto, "Naruto, as an Uzumaki, you have an immense amount of chakra in reserve. This is great for ninjutsu because it means you have a better chance of out lasting your opponents and using more powerful jutsu."

Naruto looked up at Kanoko with stars in his eyes. His excitement was too much for Kanoko, "However, it means you going to have a **much** harder time controlling all that chakra. You remember how you could never complete the clone jutsu in the academy? It's because the jutsu requires a very small amount of chakra, and too much causes the jutsu to come out incorrectly. All Uzumakis faced this same problem growing up."

Naruto looked stuck between depressed that this was going to be another difficult thing to learn and happy that he's not the only one with this problem – or was the only one. (Kanoko never did research whether the Uzumaki clan still existed)

Kanoko walked over to Sakura and said, "You on the other hand, Sakura, are going to pick this up pretty quickly. Like me, your chakra reserves are fairly low. I'll show you ways to improve your reserves later, but for now let's focus on this. Just remember: Enough to stick, but not so much that you damage the tree. After you figure out how to stick, try taking a few runs at the tree, but don't go up too high until you're confident you'll stick."

With that, Kanoko walked over to a spot a ways from the two trees and sat down.

" _I can't believe I got suckered into doing that useless jounin's job. He better being using this time productively._ " Kanoko thought, crossing her arms.

.

Elsewhere.

.

"Hehehehe." Peeking out from behind a brand new copy of Icha Icha Paradise was a masked jounin, also known as the Legendary Copy Ninja of the Leaf Village, with an upturned eye and a small blush on his cheek.

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A few days had passed since Kanoko started Naruto's and Sakura's training. Sakura, as suspected, got it right away. Naruto, however, was spending the days and nights out in the forest, training.

Kanoko praised him for his dedication. Well, not verbally, but it was praise, none the less.

They were all eating at the dinner table when Inari came in and yelled at them: Telling them Team 7 was going to die, and that they should just give up.

Tazuna apologized and told them Inari's story: His life up to this point. How he looked up to Tazuna's son, like he was his father, and how Tazuna's son was suddenly executed by Gato for being a hero.

Naruto stared ahead for a while, simmering with anger before he stood up from his seat, only to fall to the ground.

"Maybe you should take the day off Naruto. You've used too much chakra. Training further could kill you." Kakashi-sensei told Naruto, trying to sound reasonable.

Naruto just struggled to get up from the ground while saying, "I'm going to prove it…"

"Prove what?" Sakura asked.

While getting to his feet, Naruto said, "I'll prove! That it's true. That in this world, there are real heroes!" Naruto finished with a look of determination.

With that declaration, Naruto ran out the door to the forest to train.

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"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked the table.

"Who knows! He could be dead by now from chakra exhaustion!" Sakura said, annoyed at Naruto's carelessness.

" _That sounds so cold. If I hadn't been raised with them, I'd think she'd really prefer him dead. However, I know that's just her weird way of showing that she cares… I take it back, not even the women are sane in this timeframe._ " Kanoko thought, poking at her food, wondering herself if Naruto was ok.

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They eventually found Naruto at his tree, up at the top, on a branch.

"Hey guys! Look I can tree walk now!" Naruto exclaimed.

Before he lost his footing.

" _If he falls from that height, he's dead!_ " Kanoko thought breaking out into a run to catch him. Kakashi was still hobbling around on a crutch and Sakura isn't strong enough yet to grab Naruto.

"AHHHH!" Sakura screamed, closing her eyes.

"Whaaa! AH! HAHAHAHA! Got you!" Naruto yelled, as he fell, only to stick to the bottom of the branch by his feet.

"NARUTO!" Sakura growled out.

Kanoko had stopped at the bottom of the tree, when she saw Naruto had caught himself. She took a deep breath and called out, "Naruto. That's amazing. Come down here for a second. I want to give you a secret ninja scroll as a reward."

"What?! Oh boy!" Naruto ran down and stopped in front of Kanoko, "What is it?! A fire jutsu?! A dragon type of jutsu?! What?! What?!" Naruto had a large grin on his face and was jumping up and down.

Kanoko yanked Naruto, by the collar, close to her face and said darkly, "You **EVER** pull a stunt like that again, and I will **DESTORY YOU.** "

Naruto gulped when Kanoko let him go, and laughed nervously, "Haha. Yep! Got it! Won't do that again!" Before running away behind Kakashi.

" _If I'm still sane by the time they finish their training, it'll be a miracle._ " Kakashi thought with a sheepish smile, looking towards the sky.

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They were all back at Tazuna's house, getting ready for bed, when Sakura popped up with a question, "Kanoko? Remember when we were on the boat, crossing the water to get here? I asked you about those markings on your arm." Sakura finished, holding her knees close to her body.

Naruto jumped out from his covers and crawled over to Kanoko's futon, "Yeah! You said you'd tell us!"

Kanoko sighed, before looking over to Kakashi-sensei. Even he looked interested.

Kanoko pulled up her sleeve and activated the seal, "This is a form of fuinjutsu. Do you remember what we told you before about it, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded thoughtfully, watching light blue lines crawl up Kanoko's arm, "I thought that was about scrolls though."

Kanoko nodded, "Fuinjutsu can be written on scrolls, as that is most common, but it also can be placed on objects or tattooed onto a person's body. I tattooed this seal onto my body, at this point here." Kanoko finished, deactivating the seal and showing the black dot in the center of her palm.

She reactivated it: Six lines extending from the dot in her palm out to a larger circle. These lines extended past the circle, into a curved shape - making the design look like a whirlpool.

"With my left palm, I would touch or grab a ninja, sucking their chakra from them. Like a vacuum cleaner."

Naruto and Sakura both leaned over to get a closer look.

Kanoko then pointed to the two lines that went from her palm, up her arm. Kanoko pulled back her shirt farther, to show another circle of the same design on her shoulder, just above her chest.

"This is where the chakra is converted. Every person has a unique type of chakra. Not just that, they're different types of chakra a person can use, but not everyone can use those chakras. For example, a ninja may be using a rare form of chakra called, "Sage Chakra". This chakra is highly volatile and is nearly impossible to use. Very few in all of existence have used this chakra. If I were to drain this chakra directly, it would kill me. So to combat this, and any other tainted chakra that I may drain, this seal converts and purifies it. Allowing my body to absorb the chakra without ill effects."

Naruto had stars in his eyes, Sakura looked bewildered and Kakashi just stared at Kanoko in shock.

"THAT IS SO COOL! Oo! OO! Can you show me?! Huh?! HUH?!" Naruto yelled, jumping up and down.

Kanoko gave Naruto an unimpressed look, "No. First, you don't need it. You're chakra level is ridiculous and I'm not going to spend my time and patience teaching you something you don't need to know. Second, you'd abuse it. I don't trust you."

Kanoko closed her eyes before continuing, "And most importantly, there are two major drawbacks with this jutsu." She held up on figure, opening her eyes again, "One: Due to the intensity of the conversion process, to remove all impurities, the potency of the chakra is reduced by 50%." She added another figure, "Two: Even with the removal of 50% of the chakra I absorb, if I absorb too much, I'll burn my chakra points – preventing me from using any chakra, not to mention suffering from extreme pain. There isn't a pain much worse than burning your chakra points."

Sakura popped in, raising her hand, "If it's that risky, why do you use it?"

Kanoko looked over to Sakura, "I've spent my whole life increasing my chakra reserves, but they're still very low. They may never get to the level I would like, but with this seal and great chakra control, I will be able fight more battles. Shikamaru would tell you that a battle is determined within the first 5 minutes of a fight, but what he has yet to realize is there will always be a battle after that, and another one after that one. Being able to pace yourself, or recover your lost chakra is critical."

Kakashi decided to add to the discussion, "You talk as if you plan to fight a war in the future."

Kanoko stared back at her sensei and in all serious, said, "There will always be war."

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Kakashi-sensei was off the crutches now, but Kanoko wasn't sure if he was 100% yet.

Regardless, Team 7, minus Naruto, left to escort Tazuna to the bridge. They had decided to let Naruto sleep in because of how drained he was from all his training.

When they got to the bridge, however, they found all the workers on the ground: beaten up.

"What?! What happened?!" Tazuna yelled, running over to them.

.

Then the mist rolled in.

"Kanoko! Sakura! Get ready", Kakashi commanded, as they formed a triangle around Tazuna.

Kanoko pulled out her sword, placing her figures to the ground to search the area for chakra signatures.

Sakura pulled out her kunai and held a defensive position.

" _He just couldn't wait for round two._ " Kakashi thought.

"Sorry I kept you waiting, Kakashi. I see you still have those brats with you." Zabuza's voice was heard through the mist.

Six clones of Zabuza appeared, surrounding them.

Kakashi just gazed over at Kanoko and with a small smile asked, "Kanoko, be a cute little student and take care of this."

Kanoko rolled her eyes slightly before slicing open the surrounding clones. Water dispersed around the area.

"Hmph, you again. It seems you have a rival, Haku." Zabuza said to his smaller comrade.

The ninja replied, "It seems."

"That was impressive, even though the clones were 1/10th the strength." Haku told Zabuza lightly.

"That move still gave us an advance. Use it." Zabuza ordered.

"You got it." Haku replied before spinning around, creating a wind storm around him.

Kanoko and Haku's blades clashed, both holding their positions.

" _So, she can keep up with Haku's speed, huh?_ " Zabuza thought.

Kakashi observed the speed in which his student was fighting and called to Sakura, "Sakura, stay close to Tazuna. Let Kanoko handle this."

"Got it!" Sakura replied.

Kanoko and Haku traded a few more attacks, coming to another stalemate. "We want the bridge builder, not you. If you let us through, I won't have to kill you."

Kanoko just stared back unimpressed, "I assure you. That ship has already sailed."

"You're making a mistake. You won't be able to keep up with my speed, and I already have two advantages over you." The ninja responded, pleading Kanoko would give up.

Kanoko just stared back, not giving Haku a response.

Haku continued, "The first is that you are surrounded by water. The second is that you only have one hand to use." After that, Haku started to preform seals, with one hand.

Kakashi looked over at Haku in shock. " _That boy can use one-handed seals?!_ " His worry for his student was growing.

"Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death."

The water around Kanoko rose up, and formed needles. Thousands of needles surrounded Kanoko before raining down towards her.

" _As if any water jutsu is going to take me out._ " Kanoko thought, bored by the theatrics.

Tiger - Snake - Rat - Snake – Tiger

"Water Style: Water Wall!" The remaining water circled around Kanoko, destroying the needles aimed at her. The jutsu was not nearly as powerful as in her past; forming only around her person, instead of surrounding the whole area in water. After all, Kanoko's chakra was still very limited compare to before, so many of her jutsus had only a fraction of the power they once had.

Kanoko then jumped out of the water wall and threw four kunai at Haku. Distracted by the kunai, Kanoko used the body flicker jutsu and teleported behind Haku, bringing her sword down.

*riiiiip*

Haku was able to evade, but just barely. Haku's shirt on the other hand – not so much.

" _It's not possible! No one's faster than Haku!_ " Zabuza thought, not believing what he is seeing.

"You made a mistake insulting these ninjas. You've brought out Kanoko's mama bear side…"

" _Kakashi… I'm going to murder you…_ " Kanoko thought, hearing Kakashi's statement.

"…And Kanoko is the leaf village's strongest genin. And Sakura here is our resident chakra control expert, with book smarts to lean onto as well." Kakashi continued.

" _CHA! Haha! I'm a badass!_ " Inner Sakura thought.

"…And last, but not least is our #1 knucklehead ninja: Uzumaki Naruto!" Kakashi finished.

 _Elsewhere, Naruto sneezed._

"Hmph. Haku! Get on with it!" Zabuza ordered, no longer interested in listening to Kakashi.

"Got it." Haku responded, forming a seal.

The air around Kanoko got colder and she felt the chakra pouring out of Haku.

" _What jutsu is this?_ " Kanoko thought. Kanoko turned around quickly when she felt chakra form behind her, " _A mirror?_ " Suddenly mirrors started forming all around her.

"Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors!"

Kakashi's eye widen, "What is that? How does it work?!"

Kanoko remain calm as she observed Haku meld into the glass. "Now… We'll begin. And I'll show you what speed really means." She heard Haku say.

" _This isn't good…_ " Kanoko thought before getting hit twice by throwing needles.

"Ch!" Kanoko sucked in air, from the pain.

"Kanoko!" Kakashi yelled.

Kanoko get hit by several more needles, coming from all sorts of direction.

Kakashi moved to help Kanoko, when Zabuza called to him, "Just try to help… and I'll kill the other two in a heartbeat." Kakashi looked over to Sakura and Tazuna, and took a stance before Zabuza.

" _I'm sorry Kanoko._ " Kakashi thought before attacking Zabuza.

Kanoko continued to get attacked by multitudes of needles. Watching Kanoko taking hit after hit, Sakura looked to the ground. She clenched her fists, before telling Tazuna, "I'm sorry… but… I can't protect you." And with that, she ran over and threw at kunai Haku, in an effort to help Kanoko.

Haku caught it instead.

Luckily, the kunai distracted Haku, stopping the attack. Kanoko collapsed to her knee, panting from the pain, blood pouring down her face.

Deciding to end this, Haku looked back at Kanoko from one of the mirrors. Taking aim at Kanoko, but before he could, he was knocked out of the mirror by a few well aimed shuriken.

Shuriken from Naruto.

" _Naruto!_ " Kanoko thought, overjoyed to see the orange-clad ninja. Now that he was here, she could attack from the inside, while he attacks the outside. It should be enough to distract Haku and allow Kanoko to escape this deadly prison.

But then…

.

Fireworks started cracking.

" _Whatever, I'll use this as a diversion!_ " Kanoko thought, running through hand signs.

"Haha! Uzumaki Naruto is here to sa-"

"Water Style: Water Sword! Water Style: Water Bullet!" Kanoko's sword was suddenly covered in water. Kanoko quickly jumped into the air and shot a water bullet at Haku, who was staring at Naruto. He evaded, but it gave Kanoko enough time to the mirror opposite of Haku and cut it in half with her sword.

The mirror crumbled into a puddle of water.

" _Perfect! Now I just need to get out of here!_ " Kanoko thought, making a run for it.

*SMASH*

.

Only to get knocked back in…

.

…by an idiot.

An orange idiot.

.

"Kanoko! I've come to rescue you!" Naruto said with a large grin on his face.

Kanoko shook with pure and uncontainable anger, "You… YOU…" Kanoko watched as the mirror formed into ice again, cutting off her exit.

Kanoko face-palmed, " _There goes my escape route! I doubt I'll be able to get close enough to take it out again. Damn you Naruto…_ "

Haku and Zabuza argued for a bit, before Zabuza gave Haku permission to deal with the situation how Haku choses, but not before adding, "…as always, you're soft."

Kanoko looked at her wounds and realized that Zabuza was telling the truth. None of these wounds were fatal.

" _Why wouldn't he aim for vital points?_ " Kanoko thought.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Haku before they widened and he yelled, "It's YOU! The girl in the forest! What? Why?! Why are you here with him?! Was everything you said a lie?! What about protecting those precious to you?!"

Haku looked at Naruto sadly before simply stating, "A ninja is a master of deception."

" _Naruto can't go up against this kid. I need to help him!_ " Kakashi thought, before being reminded that if he attacked Haku, then Sakura and Tazuna will be open for Zabuza to attack.

Turning away from Haku, Naruto looked back at Kanoko, "Haha! I bet you're glad to see me!" Naruto laughed, grinning like an idiot.

One thing Tobirama learned, growing up as Kanoko: She inherited her mother's temper.

"Glad to see you? GLAD TO SEE YOU?! I was almost out of this cage of death and then YOU KNOCKED ME BACK IN!" Kanoko grabbed Naruto by the collar, "I'm just about done with you!"

Naruto pushed off from Kanoko and yelled, "Well, I'm just about done with your attitude! You think you're sooo smart! Ohh look I'm Kanoko, I know a bunch of jutsus and I like pressing flowers in my off time!"

"THAT WAS ONE TIME!"

Sparks flew between Naruto and Kanoko as the glared at each other.

" _Naruto is building a solid reputation for being the most clueless ninja in history. The more he helps, the worse it gets._ " Kakashi thought with an embarrassed look.

"Well, if you're so great, why don't you destroy these mirrors with a fire jutsu! They're made of ice right?! Fire melts ice!" Naruto said, crossing his arms.

"Idiot! They're chakra ice mirrors – chakra! I have to throw enough chakra at them to cancel the jutsu. A simple fire jutsu isn't going to help!" Kanoko argued back.

Suddenly the mirrors glowed.

Both Naruto and Kanoko were blown back from another needle attack.

Naruto looked around to find where Haku was, before getting irritated and multiplying, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

" _This isn't going to end well._ " Kanoko thought as she watched all the Naruto's pop, without making contact to the mirrors.

"My image is merely reflected in each mirror, but they allow me to teleport to each one. In my eyes, you are moving at a snail's paces." Haku explained.

"I knew it! A kekkei genkai!" Kakashi shouted.

After getting blown back for a second time, Naruto shook in pain and anger, "So what?! He's not going to stop me! I'm not giving up and I'm not going to lose here, because I have a dream and no one is going to take it away from me! Someday, I'll be respected in my village, that's my dream! One day, I'll be Hokage!"

Haku looked like he was facing a difficult decision, before coming to a final verdict.

"I have no choice, but to act as a shinobi, and take your lives!" Haku told Naruto and Kanoko.

" _I need to think of something quick!_ " Kanoko thought, looking back at Naruto.

"Naruto! Keep using Shadow Clone Jutsu! I need a little bit of time to try something!" Kanoko told Naruto.

"Got it! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Hundreds of Naruto attacked again, each time getting popped by Haku.

" _Damnit, I really need to learn Shikaku's Shadow Stitching Justu!_ " Kanoko thought. " _I should have used the Hiraishin no Jutsu and marked an object outside of this trap._ " Kanoko was angry with herself. She had been through numerous battles and even a few wars - all of which, her ingenuity and skill allowed her to come out victorious.

This current situation mocked Tobirama's intelligence and experience.

She should have never let it get this far.

She should have just told the world to screw off, and start acting like the Hokage she once was.

Ultimately, she knew acting like the Hokage she used to be would just get her and her family killed.

She was nowhere near her previous level of skill and her family wasn't strong enough to take on her enemies. Using a technique like the Hiraishin no Jutsu would just be the equivalent to wearing a big neon sign saying, "Look here! Look here! Zombie Hokage with absolutely no power, but still has all the secrets of the village and forbidden jutsus in her head! Please come and destroy all those that dare to stand between you and ultimate power!"

Even her former student forbid her from using that jutsu and any other sealing jutsus that only masters of the art should know – understanding the risk to her, her family, and to the village.

" _Damnit!"_ Kanoko thought watching Naruto get knocked down for the fifth time.

"This time you'll stay down!" Haku yelled, throwing large needles at Naruto and Kanoko.

" _Shit. That last one really hurt. And I'm on my last leg of chakra. I can't use my Chakra Draining Seal either because I can't get to him! Everything he throws at us are physical objects. If he aimed a chakra or elemental attack at us, I could absorb it. Damnit, after all that time! That seal is useless to me when I need it the most!_ " Kanoko thought, angry at herself.

Naruto's chakra flared and he ran towards Haku, but Haku blew him back with a handful of needles.

"Naruto! You need to be smart about this! You can't waste chakra…" Kanoko trailed off, and looked down at her hand. " _Damnit! If I only thought about that earlier! I could have borrowed Naruto's chakra! At this point, it would just kill him!_ " Kanoko thought, getting angrier at herself.

Naruto collapsed, not able to keep going.

"Looking for a counter attack? Here's one!" Haku sent a massive amount of needles toward Naruto and Kanoko, " _Here's goes all I have!_ " "Water Style: Water Wall!" A wave of water surrounded Naruto and Kanoko, blocking the needles.

" _That again… I'm aiming for the vitals, but that water keeps it out._ " Haku thought.

"Get up Naruto! We need to work together to survive this!" Kanoko shouted to Naruto

Naruto was struggling to move when another group of needles flew towards them.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" Kanoko shouted again as she fell to one knee, panting.

" _She can't possibly keep this up…_ " Haku thought, preparing another attack.

Kanoko couldn't move anymore, but continued to protect Naruto, "Water Style: Water Wall."

" _This can't go on. I need to take her out._ " Haku thinks, focusing on Kanoko.

"Naruto! I can't keep this up! You have to get up!" Kanoko yelled at Naruto again.

"Impressive, you have excellent moves and your attacks are very skillful." Haku complements Kanoko, throwing only a few needles this time.

Kanoko dodges, blocking a few with her sword. She pants as she hit the ground.

"…But it looks like you've reached your limits as well. Motor functions. Reflexes. Judgement. Your abilities are weakening, slowly, but surely. Now you are finished!"

" _I don't have a choice! This is all I have!_ " Kanoko thought pulling out a scroll. " _This is the only chance I'm going to get!_ " Placing her hand in the middle of the scroll, chakra flowed through from the scroll into her body.

She could only do this once, as she is now, or she'll burn her chakra points, but it should be enough for one large jutsu.

Kanoko clasped her hands together and yelled, "Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

" _That jutsu!_ " Kakashi-sensei thought, getting distracted from Zabuza and taking a blow to the gut.

" _That jutsu looks powerful! I'll have to distract her, by going for her partner!_ " Haku thought making a run towards Naruto.

Everything went slow.

 _ **He then broke out in a grin and yelled, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be the Hokage!"**_

Haku was going in for the kill.

 _ **With barely noticeable tears in his eyes, Naruto quickly shook the hurt away and turned it into anger, yelling, "I don't know who you are, but you and I are rivals! Did you hear me?! I'm going to beat you, you bastard!"**_

Kanoko looked over to Naruto.

 _ **Naruto stood up before shouting, "To be the greatest Hokage! That way the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like somebody! Somebody important!"**_

She dropped her hand seal.

 _ **Naruto didn't move, just held his hand and continued, "I worked too hard to get here. Pushing myself. Training alone for hours. Anything to get stronger to reach my dream… I will never back down and let someone else rescue me! I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke or Kanoko! Upon this wound, I make this pledge. Believe it." Still not turning around, Naruto says, "Bridge builder, I will complete this mission and protect you, with this kunai knife."**_

And turned her body towards Naruto.

 _ **While getting to his feet, Naruto said, "I'll prove! That it's true. That in this world, there are real heroes!" Naruto finished with a look of determination.**_

She leaped through the air, landing in front of Naruto.

.

.

.

" _ **I'm going to be ok. I promise."**_

.

" _I'm sorry. I broke my promise, Shikamaru…_ "

.

000000000000000000000000000000

Shikamaru was currently training with his team. He was jumping back from a swing from Ino, thinking about how troublesome this whole thing was.

When suddenly…

Shikamaru grabbed his chest, feeling a sharp pain. He fell to his knees, his eyes wide, and pupils microscopic.

"SHIKAMARU!" He heard one of his teammates call for him.

Asuma-sensei ran over and crouched down to Shikamaru, "Shikamaru?! What is it? Are you hurt?!" Asuma ran his eyes over him, and saw he was clenching his shirt, right where his heart was.

He heard his name over and over, but all he could focus on was one word.

.

" _Imouto_."

.

A tear fell from his eye.


	15. Chapter 14

"Your eyes are sharp Kakashi." Zabuza praised Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi was crouched on the ground, holding a hand over the wound on his chest.

"…But not sharp enough to read my moves." Zabuza finished, chuckling, "Come on, I want to enjoy my fun to the fullest! I want my revenge." Zabuza turned slightly to Haku's ice cage, "And don't worry about those kids. They're at Haku's mercy… they're breathing their last breath now!"

Kakashi and Zabuza exchanged a couple more blows before Zabuza faded into the mist, laughing maniacally.

Sakura looked over to the ice mirror trap with a worried face, " _He said Kanoko and Naruto… are going to die!_ " Sakura shook her head roughly, trying to get the thought out, " _No way! Kanoko has always been the best! Only second to Sasuke!_ " Sakura looked certain, shouting, "I have faith in them!"

"Exactly!" Kakashi responded, not turning around. "I… I believe in their abilities. I have faith in them. Naruto: The number one knucklehead ninja. And Kanoko: An heir to the smartest clan in the hidden leaf village!"

"Huh? You mean…" Zabuza responded.

"Yes. Her full name is Nara Kanoko. The clan known for its shadow manipulation, strategic prowess, infiltration specialties, and medical expertise. Essentially, the hardest type of ninja to kill without casualties." Kakashi finished, trying to pull out as much bragging material as he could. He would just ignore the part about the clan being full of lazy bums, normally seen running from their wives, who were chasing them around with frying pans.

"A Nara huh? I was selected to assassinate Nara Shikaku on a number of occasions. All were failures." Zabuza replied, thinking of the Leaf's jounin commander. "No wonder she continues to stay one step ahead of Haku. But, no one can match Haku! No one can match his jutsu! Even the most skilled of jounin have fallen before him."

"JUST AS YOU WILL FALL BEFORE ME! RIGHT NOW!" Zabuza yelled.

"Sakura, stay with Tazuna!" Kakashi told Sakura.

"OK! Got it!" Sakura replied to her sensei.

Kakashi ran off in the direction of Zabuza's voice, " _He's right. It's time to end this, but he's the one who will fall!_ "

000000000000000000000000

Naruto stirred from his spot on the ground.

He looked up.

Haku was face first on the ground, and in front of Naruto was Kanoko, standing above.

Naruto's face lit up and called out to Kanoko, "You beat him Kanoko!", but his face shifted again: Into confusion.

.

Sticking out of Kanoko's back were four large needles.

In front of Kanoko was a pool of blood.

"*cough* Naruto… Quick… Finish Haku… *cough*You need… To do it… Quick… While he's down…*cough*" Kanoko coughed up more blood, it completely covered her chin now.

Naruto sat up, with wide eyes, "Why…? Why did you save me? Why did you do it?"

Kanoko chucked, "I remember the first moment I met you... You were… such a brat. An Uzumaki brat, which made you so much worse."

Naruto stood up aggressively, "Then why?! Why did you…protect me?"

Kanoko coughed, unable to get her words out.

Naruto growled and clenched his fists, "I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for you to save me!"

Kanoko closed her eyes and chuckled lowly, "I don't know… I guess part of you… Reminds me… Of someone… And I think, maybe you can…" Kanoko starts falling back, "…become Hokage…"

"KANOKO!" Naruto yells, catching her.

Kanoko looked up at Naruto, "I made a promise… To my brother… To Shikamaru… That I would come back…" Kanoko placed her left hand on Naruto's hand, "Don't… *cough* let… the people precious to you down… like I did…"

Kanoko exhaled and closed her eyes.

.

.

Naruto stared at Kanoko with wide eyes.

.

He stared as he saw her chest fall, but not rise.

.

Stared at the blood pouring out her mouth.

*bump bump*

Tears started to form in his eyes.

*bump bump*

He brought her closer.

*bump bump*

Ignoring the spikes, he brought her into a full body hug.

*bump bump*

Haku slowly stood up.

"She found a strength she didn't know she had…" Haku told Naruto, thinking back.

 _Flashback_

 _Haku was closing in. He was going to kill Naruto._

 _Kanoko jumped in front, activating her seal on her hand. She took the needles to the chest, but was able to grab Haku as he tried to move past her to the opposite mirror._

 _With everything she had, she shoved her left hand into Haku's chest – not breaking skin, but sucking the chakra from him. She then grabbed a kunai and slammed it down into his left knee._

 _Haku pushed off from Kanoko, but fell when he put pressure onto his injured knee._

 _End Flashback_

"Why? Because of a certain person that was precious to him. To save that person, she rushed in, knowing it was a trap."

Haku rose to his feet, "She was a true ninja. Worthy of honor."

Haku looked to Naruto, "Is this the first time you've lost someone in battle? This is what it means to be a ninja."

Haku then fazed back into the ice mirror.

" **Shut. Up.** "

The water around Naruto turned into steam.

"I… Hated you too Kanoko. I… Thought you were stuck up and spoiled."

More steam rose up.

"You'll pay for this."

Red energy swirled around Naruto.

" **I'm going to kill you!** " Naruto growled in a demonic voice.

.

One problem.

.

Naruto was holding Kanoko's hand.

Her seal hadn't deactivated.

.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kanoko screamed in such a high pitch, it distracted Naruto, making him look down.

Kakashi, Sakura, Tazuna, and Zabuza all heard the scream and looked over. They could see crimson red energy fluctuating around in the ice trap.

"What is that?! What is this chakra?!" Zabuza yelled in shock.

Sakura turned to Kakashi-sensei, "SENSEI! That was Kanoko!"

Kakashi looked back, " _I need to get over there! The nine-tails is leaking out!_ " Kakashi thought in a panic. " _I need to end this!_ " Kakashi placed one hand on his wrist and focused energy. Lightening chakra.

.

"AHHHHHH!" Kanoko was still screaming, tossing and turning.

Naruto was shocked. He thought his teammate died. How is she still alive and why is she screaming like that?

Kanoko's body had steam flowing off of it and her wounds were closing.

She had experienced a lot of pain as Tobirama, but this was unbearable. It was too much! Too much chakra! Her seal on her shoulder couldn't handle this massive amount of corrupted chakra.

" _Where is this chakra coming from?!_ " Kanoko thought frantically, shifting her wide eyes around. They settled on Naruto.

"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kanoko screamed again, trying to rip her hand away from Naruto's. He looked down at her hand, and saw she was pulling away.

Why?

He didn't understand.

He facial features were changing back to normal when she finally ripped her hand away, holding her arm like it was on fire.

The needles were falling off of her body and the wounds had nearly closed.

She panted, in a hunched over position.

*pant*

She could feel it.

*pant*

That power.

*pant*

That chakra.

.

She looked at her hands. They were shaking.

She chuckled.

.

Standing up straight, she placed her hands at her side. She walked over and pick up her sword, before walking back to Naruto.

"…Kanoko…" Naruto asked, watching Kanoko move.

Kanoko turned her head to Naruto and with a smirk, said, "Ready to look good in front of Sakura?"

Naruto stared, opened mouth before replying with a large grin, "YES! Believe it!"

Kanoko clapped her hands together. "WATER STYLE: WATER SHOCKWAVE!" Kanoko yelled as water from the ocean below rose and flew to Kanoko.

" _What in the?! SHE TAKING HALF THE OCEAN WITH HER?!_ " Zabuza thought, his eyes flying to Haku.

Water crashed through the ice, breaking a few of them in the process.

Naruto sprung up, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Several Naruto ran out the openings, grabbing Sakura and Tazuna.

"Naruto?!" Sakura scream as she was thrown over his shoulder, "No time Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied.

"GAHHH!" Kanoko yelled, forcing the wave to disperse into all directions, causing Haku to fly back.

Water flowed around and off the bridge in a tidal wave. While Naruto had picked up Sakura and Tazuna, Kakashi and Zabuza had to fend for themselves. Both stopped their attacks, and ran for safer ground.

Bird – Boar – Dog – Dragon – Ox – Tiger – Serpent – Rat – Horse – Monkey – Hare – Ram

Kanoko's shadow shot out quickly, weaving around and using the shadows the water jutsu had created.

Haku, shocked by the blow, was struggling to get up. He nearly got up to run when he froze.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu… complete." Kanoko finished with a smirk. "Naruto! Now!"

Haku's eyes widen, as he couldn't move his head to look. He felt it though.

Flying through the air, Naruto used all of his pent up anger and frustrations, and knocked Haku to the ground with a single punch.

 **Hard**.

Haku stared up at Naruto, who was standing over him, panting.

" _Zabuza. I am no match for these two._ " Haku thought, waiting for the final blow.

Naruto continued to stand above Haku, panting.

"Why do you not strike? Did you not just vow to avenge your comrade, by killing me? Or was that vow just empty words?" Haku watched Naruto, unmoving, "Perhaps she doesn't mean as much to you as you pretend."

Kanoko walked over slowly, staying a few feet away from Naruto and Haku. Close enough to watch and listen, but not so close to interrupt.

Naruto growled at Haku's words - angry by his assumptions.

Haku got up slowly, "There is only one person that matters to me. I live to serve and protect him. That is my purpose. To show mercy to the ones that oppose him. To allow his enemies to live, when you can strike them down. This is not compassion – this is betrayal. For what purpose do you exist then? You are of use to no one. Your life has no meaning."

"Speak for yourself!" Naruto yelled back.

"Are you really that blind?" Haku replied.

"Why Zabuza, anyways? Why devote your life to a skunk who doesn't know the meaning of the word honor. If he's the one person that matters to you, then, man! That's the sorriest thing I've ever heard!" Naruto cried out holding his fists up.

"There were once others… long ago…" Haku spoke before talking about his past. A happy life before his father murdered his mother: in fear of the kekkei genkai he and his mother possessed. He spoke about a wide fear of the kekkei genkai and how many people killed those that possessed it.

" _Fear of bloodline traits? I had always wondered if such a thing would occur…_ " Kanoko thought, thinking of clans like the Uchiha.

"Why is it that you are so determined to by Hokage? It is because you want all eyes on you to see that you are a great ninja." Haku paused before continuing, "You see, it is only through the eyes of others that our little lives have any significance. When there is no one that sees you, it as though you did not exist."

Kanoko looked at Naruto. She thought back to four years ago, during the academy:

 _Flashback_

" _Just ignore him."_

 _._

 _Naruto's face fell dramatically. He looked crushed._

 _Iruka-sensei then called the class to follow him. While everyone followed Iruka-sensei, Naruto didn't move. He just looked at the ground._

 _End Flashback_

Kanoko knew that if anyone understood what Haku was saying, it was Naruto.

"And then Zabuza came along. He saw me. His eyes didn't show hate or fear. He did not shun me for my strangeness. He saw my strength and needed it. He gave me purpose again." Haku said, face pointed to the ground. He was thinking about the first time he met Zabuza.

"I was happy." He finished.

He turned his dead eyes to Naruto.

.

"Kill me." Haku asked Naruto.

Kanoko turned her head to the right, distracted by the sound of crackling, " _Lightening Jutsu…_ " Pushing out her senses out, she could see Kakashi and Zabuza. Zabuza was being held down… by a group of summoned dogs? She could see the chakra moving around her sensei's hand. " _That is a fair amount of chakra._ "

"Lightening Blade!"

.

"Go on! Strike! Kill me! Why do you hesitate?" Haku pleaded to Naruto. Kanoko turned her attention back to the two of them, curious of what Naruto will do.

Naruto made several angry sounds before taking several steps back, "That is the most ridiculous story I've ever heard! I mean, he treats you like a slave! You're a human being! Not a weapon or a tool! How can you care about someone like that?!"

"Zabuza gave me a reason to live." He looked down, "But now… my usefulness is over. The only thing that gave my life meaning... is gone. A broke tool, a blunted weapon, I'm no use to anyone." Haku looked up with a serious expression.

"Do it Naruto. Do it. Quickly." Haku begged one last time.

Naruto still didn't move.

"Why do you hesitate?!" Haku exclaimed. "I thought you wanted to be a mighty warrior."

"Do you really believe that's all there is to it?! Just fighting and killing until there's only one man left standing?!" Naruto yelled back.

Kanoko's eyes widen in shock. " _Naruto…_ "

"THERE'S LOT MORE TO BEING SHINOBI THAN THAT!" Naruto stopped before continuing, "And there are other ways of showing your strength then beating other people in battle."

" _Does he really believe that?_ " Kanoko look up, " _To be so young, but believe so profoundly._ " Kanoko chuckled a little at how much of a goofball Naruto was, and then he goes and says something meaningful like that.

"I had a feeling… You and I are a lot alike." Haku told Naruto.

"Is this really the only way?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

Naruto struggled internally before he pulled out a kunai and ran towards Haku. Just as Naruto got close, Haku grabbed his arm. Kanoko ran through hand signs, stretching her shadow.

"Sorry Naruto. Change of plans." Haku ran through some hands signs and then saying, "I'm not ready to die just yet."

.

.

.

"That may be so, but you're not going anywhere." Kanoko stated, holding Haku in place.

" _This jutsu again!_ " Haku struggled to move his body, sensing his master's pain, "NO! You need to let me go! If Zabuza dies, I MEAN NOTHING AGAIN!" Haku cried out.

Naruto stared at Haku with a pained looked before his face changed to determination. Naruto turned and sprinted towards the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza.

"NARUTO! NO!" Kanoko roared. She looked over to Haku and then to her hands. If she lets him go, who knows what he'll do. He could attack Naruto, Sakura, or Tazuna, but if she didn't move, Naruto was going to do something stupid.

Kanoko released the jutsu just as she grabbed Haku by his shirt.

Naruto leaped in between Kakashi and Zabuza, "Wait Sensei!" Naruto yelled, his arms out, as if to block Kakashi's attack.

" _Naruto! No!_ " Kakashi thought, trying to cancel the jutsu and move away.

It was too late.

Blood squirted out, all over Kakashi and onto the ground.

His eyes wide; his Sharingan recording the whole thing.

"Nooooooooo!"

.

With Kakashi's hand stuck in his chest was one person.

.

Haku.

At the last minute, Kanoko had thrown herself in front of Naruto, using Haku as a shield.

Using Haku's body as a shield.

.

Naruto stared wide eyed. He couldn't believe it. Why? Why would Kanoko do that?! "You… You… used him like a shield… like a tool…"

Zabuza broke into a loud and power laugh, "What do you know?! One of you really ARE a ninja! To use Haku like that, knowing he'd die! Well… it's just too bad…" Zabuza shook off the dog pack and grabbed his sword, "…That I'm going to have to kill you too." He finished bringing down his sword.

Kanoko turned sharply, letting go of Haku's body and pulling Naruto out of the way. Kakashi only barely escaped as well, taking Haku's body with him.

"That wasn't too bad either. I imagine it's difficult to move like that with all that dead weight." Zabuza praised Kakashi, referring to Haku's body.

Tears started to form in Naruto's eyes as he shoved Kanoko away from him, before turning to Zabuza, "Did he really mean nothing to you?! He lived for you!"

Zabuza just chuckled, "Haku was a ninja. He served his purpose, even if he died being used by his enemies."

Naruto roared at Zabuza.

"No! You stay out of this Naruto! This is my battle!" Kakashi told Naruto. Kakashi jump back to face Zabuza, taking the battle away from Naruto.

Thankfully, Naruto was distracted when Sakura ran over to Kanoko and Naruto, "Naruto! Kanoko! You're both safe!"

Naruto grinned back. "Haha! Yep!" Naruto responded, scratching the back of his head. Kanoko just kept her eyes firmly on the battle ahead.

Kakashi and Zabuza exchanged blows until, finally, Kakashi took out both arms by stabbing kunai into them. "Now you can't use either arm and use can't form hand signs."

Zabuza stilled, and looked ready to respond when Kanoko's attention shifted, due to new small chakra signatures.

"They really did a number on you Zabuza!"

Gato.

"I must say… I'm disappointed."

"There has to be a hundred of them!" Sakura yelled, pointing to the thugs behind Gato.

Kanoko "hmph"d. "None are ninjas. Their chakra levels are too low. They're just a bunch of thugs." Kanoko moved some chakra around. " _I still have so much of Naruto's chakra to spare._ " Looking back at Gato, she told Kakashi, "If you would like, I can wash this problem away."

Zabuza interrupted, "Why are you here… And who are these thugs?!"

Gato smirk, "There's been a change of plans. You're going to die here."

Zabuza's eyes widened, "What?"

Gato chuckled, "You're too expensive, but these thugs cost me money too, so if you could take out a few of them before dying, I would appreciate it. Can you do that, oh impressive ninja of the mist?"

Kanoko's face scrunched up in disgust, " _Unbelievable. What scum._ "

It didn't end there.

Gato walked up to Haku's body.

And kicked it.

Naruto screamed in shock.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Naruto screamed, completely inconsolable, before running towards Gato. Kakashi grabbed him in time before Naruto could get any farther, "Naruto! Use your head!"

Naruto started yelling at Zabuza instead: Berating him for doing nothing to protect Haku's body from Gato, when Haku dedicated his life to Zabuza.

"You just tossed him aside like a broken tool! THAT'S SO WRONG!" Tears were running down Naruto's face.

Zabuza didn't move, "You talk too much." He ripped his bandages from his mouth, "Boy. Give me your kunai."

Wiping his face, Naruto tossed it to him.

Zabuza grabbed it with his mouth, before running into the group of thugs. Taking them out, one by one.

Kanoko looked over to Gato's running form. He didn't make it far before experiencing the true demon of the mist.

It wasn't long after that, that the rest of the thugs were taken out by a combination of the Land of Wave's villagers, Naruto clones, and Kakashi clones.

Kanoko sat back and watched.

Hey, she already offered.

0000000000000000000000000

Sakura placed the last stone onto Haku's and Zabuza's graves. Naruto stood above, looking down at the small graves, with a sad look. In the end, both of them fought and died to protect the one they cared about the most – even if it was in a round-a-bout way.

Kanoko and Kakashi walked up behind Naruto and Sakura. Kanoko took a side look at Naruto.

He hadn't spoken to her once since the battle. He acted as if she wasn't even there: Shoving her if she was in the way, ignoring her inclusion in conversations, and avoiding eye contact.

Kanoko was taken aback by his behavior at first. She was protecting him. She nearly gave her life for him – what right did he have to be angry with her?! And since when does Naruto show anger in this manner? What happened to stomping his foot and screaming at the person that upset him?

No.

She was different.

Kanoko was gifted the silent treatment.

And you know what? She didn't care.

Kanoko deserved better than this.

If he wasn't interested in her protection, she wasn't going to waste her time giving it.


	16. Chapter 15

"SHIKAKU!"

Kanoko opened her eyes lazily.

Team 7 had completed their mission in the Land of Waves and had been back of a few weeks now. The first thing Kanoko did when she was dismissed from the Hokage's office was grab her fuinjutsu supplies and run to her spot in the Nara forest.

She spent that evening and the rest of the next day running through calculations and test, trying to understand why her seal acted the way it did. The amount of chakra she absorbed from Naruto should have burned her chakra points. Actually, it did burn them, Kanoko was quite sure of that – the pain was horrific. The bigger question was how or why did the chakra points heal after being burned?

Kanoko's first thought was that she was her seal was more impressive than she first thought. It wouldn't be the first time she created something that turned out to have more benefits than originally designed. Example: The Shadow Clone Jutsu.

After several rounds of testing, she knew this wasn't the case.

That lead to the only one other possible option: The chakra was what burned and healed her simultaneously. Kanoko knew sage chakra had the potential to behave in this way, but there was **no way** that Naruto was using sage chakra.

However.

There was one close relative to sage chakra: Demonic chakra. Not just any demonic chakra either. The kind that come from a tailed beast.

With this information, Kanoko went back to the only tailed beast she knew of in Konoha: The Nine-Tailed Fox. Plugging in the pieces from there was so easy, that Kanoko wondered why it even was a secret. In Kanoko's opinion, a secret was something only known by a few and was difficult to discover. Thinking back, it was clear that anyone over the age of 13 knew Naruto was contained the tail beast. Even if only a few people knew, it's a tail beast. You can't hide chakra like that forever.

It just comes out.

Point: The Land of Waves mission.

The only reason that Kanoko didn't think about the nine-tails when Naruto lost control was she was busy: Screaming her head off in pain.

It was a reasonable excuse.

.

Back to the seal on her arm.

Kanoko took some time to store some of the left over chakra into a scroll for later use. She wondered if it would burn and heal her again when she pulled it from a scroll…

…Now she's not sure that she wanted to use it.

.

Drifting back to the present…

Kanoko turned towards the side of the bed and started to crawl out.

Tried to crawl out.

Wrapped around her, like an octopus, was her brother.

When she got home, still confused by her seal's mechanics, she was immediately welcomed with a dark aura. She tried to sneak upstairs, thinking her mother was angry at her father or brother again, when she was suddenly attacked from behind.

She fell to the floor with a thud and felt arms clasp around her torso. She turned her head to the side, and saw Shikamaru, completely asleep on her back.

.

He hadn't let go since.

.

Thankfully, by the second day, when Shikamaru followed Kanoko to the training grounds of Team 7, Ino had stomped over and dragged him by the collar back to Team 10's training grounds.

Unfortunately, he still attached himself to Kanoko, like a koala bear does to bamboo, at night.

She really needed her own bed. And room. And house. On the other side of the village.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

Kanoko and Sakura were standing on the bridge, waiting for Kakashi-sensei. They both showed up at the time designated by Kakashi-sensei. They knew he would be late, but they normally trained while he was taking his time.

Mostly, Kanoko wanted Sakura to become more diverse in the ninja arts. She needed some special skills in order to survive on their own in the future.

So Kanoko sat her down and asked her what kind of ninja she would like to be. While her motivation was, shockingly, Sasuke oriented, her intent was easy to conclude. From what Kanoko gathered, she wanted to be on the frontline, fighting alongside powerful ninjas, but focusing on support functions mostly. In Kanoko's mind, that was a noble goal. In Kanoko's experience, the first ninja taken out were always the support ninjas. Even more so if they were good.

Say you are battling three ninjas and you have six ninjas, but one of their ninjas is a healer with notable skill. All six of you can attack those three all day long, but if that healer keeps them going and no one is doing the same on your side, you will eventually lose. It's just a matter of time.

Everyone knew this, which is why the healers, sealers, and other support ninjas were always targeted first.

Understanding Sakura's intent, Kanoko was able to introduce her to a few healing jutsus she knew (*cough* invented *cough*) and told her that she would introduce her to one of Kanoko's clansmen to learn about medicinal herbs.

Kanoko wasn't sure what assault tactics she should teach Sakura. Sakura had shown dismal potential in any weapon Kanoko threw at her and Sakura's chakras levels weren't very developed. Any jutsu Kanoko could teach her would likely drain her right off the bat. Sakura did have amazing chakra control, so perhaps jutsus that required fine chakra control? Maybe genjutsu? Tobirama had a few of those, that Kanoko had yet to train (again) on. She could pass them along.

.

As for Naruto.

Kanoko's eyebrow twitch at the mention of his name.

For weeks, he completely ignored her. He didn't glare at her, didn't yell, didn't try to outdo her – just ignored her. She didn't know how he kept it up. They had gone on a number of missions afterwards. All of them were D-ranked, of course, but he went out of his way to stay as far away from her as possible.

Even why her sensei told her and Naruto to spar, he would just turn around and start sparing with a tree.

That was downright insubordination.

Kanoko thought about confronting Naruto, get him to yell his _**feelings**_ out to her, but that wasn't how she handled things. She wasn't some pubescent child that needed the attentions of one little boy. She would be just fine without it.

She wasn't going to allow his behavior to put the team at risk, though. Which was another reason Kanoko spent so much time with Sakura – training her to be stronger. Kanoko couldn't rely on Naruto to protect her after all. As much as he said he "loved" Sakura, his behavior was only going to get his whole team killed.

And dammit, Kanoko was **not** going to apologize for saving Naruto's life.

She did **nothing wrong**.

.

Kanoko turned to the opening of the bridge to see Naruto running up to Sakura.

"Hey Sakura-chan! What's up?!" Naruto yelled, waving to Sakura, completely ignoring Kanoko.

" _Not again! They've been like this since the mission!_ " Sakura thought annoyed. " _Uggg, it's like being stuck with a couple of children._ "

Eventually, Kakashi did show up, "Hey guys. Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the road of life."

Naruto and Sakura yelled, "Whaaaa?!"

After the yelling, Naruto started crying about wanting another mission – a real mission.

"BELIEVE IT!" Naruto yelled out of nowhere.

"Let us know when you're done fantasizing, Naruto, so we could start the mission?" Kakashi asked.

"Could you just stop being annoying, just for once!" Sakura added on.

000000000000000000000000000

Team 7 was walking back from their last mission. Naruto was limping along, being supported by Sakura. The last mission's objective had been walking dogs and Naruto's dog had pulled him into a land mine field.

Don't worry; the dog came out completely unharmed.

.

"Look at you… You're hopeless Naruto!" Sakura told Naruto.

Kanoko just looked ahead.

"We're not doing so well on the teamwork thing, huh?" Kakashi said with a sigh.

Naruto shook Sakura off of him and took an aggressive stance towards Kanoko. Kanoko, hands still in her pockets, raised an eyebrow at Naruto. What happened to ignoring her?

Naruto stuck his finger out, pointing it at Kanoko and yelled at Kanoko, "That's right! Our teamwork's all messed up and it's because of you!"

Kanoko's eye twitched at Naruto, "How is this possibly my fault?! All you have done is ignore me and treat me like scum! If anyone is to blame, in concern to our teamwork, it's you!"

"You think you're better than everyone else! You think they mean less than you! Like they're tools to use at your disposal!" Naruto screamed back.

Kanoko crossed her arms, "I understand the in Naruto's world, everything is sunshine and rainbows, but in the real world – the ninja world – you do what's required to survive. A true shinobi must suppress their emotions and complete the task before them."

"The world isn't so black and white! There's always another way!" Naruto screamed back.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have stuck your nose where it doesn't belong. Maybe you shouldn't have jumped in front of Sensei's attack. Did you ever think that perhaps Haku would still be alive if you hadn't jump in so impulsively? Maybe that's it: You may be mad at me, but you're angrier with yourself because it was your actions that caused Haku's death." Kanoko finished coldly. Even the atmosphere seemed to drop ten degrees.

"KANOKO!" Sakura exclaimed, "That's going too far!"

Naruto just stared at the ground, his fists tight, and his body shaking in rage.

*drip*

*drip drip*

Kanoko slowly uncrossed her arms, as she watched tear drops fall from Naruto's face. Kanoko's face shifted from a hard look, to a defeated one. She sighed internally and looked up at the sky, " _I feel like I'm turning into my father…_ " Kanoko thought, thinking of Tobirama's father: His cold demeanor and his angry words towards Hashirama.

Kanoko took a step towards Naruto, with an arm extended out, but he bolted away before she could get close.

She watched his back as he ran.

" _You're the worst Kanoko._ " Kanoko told herself.

0000000000000000000000000000000

Kanoko walked into the Nara residence and sat down at the table with her chin resting in her palm. She looked out the window thinking about the events that have occurred since the beginning of her assignment to Team 7.

So much had happened, but at the same time Kanoko felt as though no progress had been made. She told herself that was ridiculous. She, along with Naruto and Sakura, had completed a number of D-ranked missions and even survived a rather deadly B-ranked mission.

It all goes back to that B-ranked mission though.

Kanoko thought about her actions before and during the mission. Had she really made any progress? She felt as though she was stuck in a story with a predetermined ending and she couldn't deviate from the script. She felt like a pawn or a placeholder, as if she was subbing in for another character.

Kanoko continued to stare outside, wondering why she was even revived, if her presence made so little od an impact.

"Kanoko?"

Kanoko turned her head up and saw her mother. "I thought you would be outside training or on a mission with your team?" Yoshino asked, looking confused at her daughter.

Kanoko just looked away, not really feeling like answering.

"Now that's the kind of response I expect from your brother. Now I know something is up. Kanoko. Tell your Kaa-san what's on your mind." Yoshino said with a firm smile before sitting down across from Kanoko.

Kanoko didn't turn her head, "Do you think I've changed?"

"What do you mean?"

Kanoko clicked her teeth, "I don't know. I guess I don't know where to go from here. Like I'm one of Shikamaru's clouds: floating in the wind, not getting a choice in its destination."

Yoshino stared before chuckling, "You've lost your purpose."

Kanoko turned back to her mother, "I've lost my purpose?" Kanoko shook her head, "No. I…"

Yoshino interrupted, "Think about it. When you came home after being assigned a team, you were determined. Determined to do what, I'm not sure, but after that? You started to just sit back and watch – much like your brother. The both of you are more alike than you like to admit."

Kanoko glared at the table before her, not really wanting to glare at her mother, "Sit back and watch? I've been working day and night to get stronger. I put my life on the line to protect my teammates! How is that sitting back and watching?"

Her mother reached out and grabbed Kanoko's fist with both of her hands, "You're acting like a ninja and that's great Kanoko, but you're more than a ninja. You're Nara Kanoko. Have you ever looked inside and asked yourself that that means?" Yoshino paused before continuing, "I've watched you grow. You were never curious and remained distant from everything and everyone, even your own family. You act as if you are watching a story unfold in front of your eyes, but do nothing to change the storyline."

Kanoko looked at her mother's hands, " _That's how I feel, like there's no point in acting because I'm just a pawn in this story._ " Kanoko's fist tightened.

"The thing is Kanoko. This is your story. You need to start acting like it." Yoshino finished catching Kanoko's eyes and smiling.

Kanoko stared bewildered at Yoshino.

" _This is my story?_ " She stared at her mother before shifted her gaze to a picture behind her. It was a family portrait.

In her head, Kanoko's image in the picture disappeared.

Nothing changed.

Her family was still smiling.

Without her.

As if her presence made no difference.

.

Kanoko stood up suddenly.

Her gaze was fixated to the ground before looking up.

There was a fire behind her eyes.

" _I'm done with being a pawn. I'm done following the script. It's time I start acting like who I was before this village even was built: Senju Tobirama – a force to be reckoned with._ "

.

.

.

.

.

.

 **Special Episode:**

.

Kanoko walked through the door to her home with her hands in her pockets. She placed the bag of food on the counter when Shikamaru came around the corner.

Kanoko immediately grabbed the nearby broom and held it out, preventing her brother from getting close. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Not today."

Shikamaru stared at her like she was crazy before yawning out a "troublesome" and walking away. Kanoko watched him leave up the stairs, broom following him as he walk, before placing the broom against the wall.

Only to get glomped by her mother…

She hated this family…


	17. Chapter 16

Kanoko sipped her tea, looking down the isle of the tea house. She didn't look like Kanoko though. She was henged as Kakashi-sensei. Mask and everything, which made drinking tea… interesting.

Kanoko's eyes shifted up as her guest sat down across from her.

The Third Hokage.

With a hand seal, the Hokage sealed the area around the two of them – no one would be able to listen in.

"Thank you for meeting me here, Hiruzen." Kanoko told him politely.

"Well, I couldn't very well ignore an invitation to tea from my Sensei." Hiruzen stated plainly, picking up the tea pot to pour himself a cup.

Kanoko chuckled, "Now that's a word I haven't heard in a long time." Taking another sip, she asked, "I'm sure you're curious as to why I asked you here. I am aware we agreed not to communicate directly in this manner." The risk of others discovering her true identity was always a pressing concern to them both.

Kanoko sat her tea down and looked at her former student seriously, "I hear the chunin exams are drifting closer."

"Hai."

Kanoko continued, "I would also be a fool to be blind to the Village Hidden in the Sand's situation." Hiruzen looked at her curious, so Kanoko explained, "I'm afraid that Shikaku doesn't hide his worry at home all that well."

Hiruzen sighed, "I have reason to believe Konoha will be targeted by another contending power during the chunin exams."

Kanoko picked up her cup and her eyes hardening, "Who are you suspecting?"

"While all of the major signs point to our allies, the Village Hidden in the Sand…" Hiruzen started.

"As a ninja, you must look underneath the underneath." Kanoko finished for him.

"Hai. There is a long standing enemy of Konoha that I fear may be involved. One of my own doing." The Hokage looked up at Kanoko, to be met with a hard one-eyed stare. He didn't think he ever saw that look on Kakashi's face.

Kanoko sternly asked, "What do you mean: one of your own doing?"

The Third chuckled nervously, "You're in a 12-year old girl's body and yet, you continue to instill fear and awe in me." Looking away from his sensei's knowing stare, he continued, "I taught a group of genin by myself after you passed. Jiraiya, Tsunade – your grandniece, and Orochimaru. I taught them as you taught me. I used the bell test you once use on me. I emphasized teamwork and Will of Fire. And I taught them the rough realities of war." He looked back at Kanoko, "But I made a mistake. One of my students had lost his parents – the people that meant the most to him. Perhaps it was coincidence, or planted, but there was the skin of snake on their graves. It prompted, in a round-a-bout way, a discussion on revival, resurrection, and immortality."

Kanoko held up a hand to Hiruzen, indicating him to stop, "I understand, you need not go into further detail. Is this student the threat you imagine?"

"Hai. I've had recent reports of a new village called the Village Hidden in the Sound. Reports link my student, Orochimaru, to this village as its leader." Hiruzen finished.

Kanoko closed her eyes, "You believe genin from this village will take part in the exam. Hm. It's likely the Sand will as well."

The Hokage looked at Kanoko, curious.

Kanoko explained, "It would be foolish to discount them as a threat, if relations are this strained. Whether they are working alongside this Orochimaru, has yet to be seen, but both should be treated with the utmost caution." Kanoko took another sip of her tea, "Tell me. Knowing the danger this chunin exam will most certainly pose, are you still moving forward with the exams and are even considering allowing the rookie genin teams to compete?"

The Hokage took a deep breath, "Hai. Do you not agree?"

Kanoko gave him a hard look over her cup, "I don't."

The Hokage watched Kanoko, "Because of their inexperience? We were much younger when you had us go to war."

Kanoko reprimanded Hiruzen, "That was war."

"Then why? …Call me curious." The Hokage chuckled lightly.

"You are introducing the heirs of six powerful clans into a suspected trap. Politically, the damage could be exponential." Kanoko pause, "That is not the only concern, however. Naruto will also be in this exam. He is an untrained Jinchuriki. And yet, you would place him into a warzone with no protection. The potential for the unfortunate…" Kanoko looked away, then back at Hiruzen, with a serious expression, "Last, this generation has the potential of becoming great. I have seen firsthand their Wills of Fire, as well as the skills to back it up."

The Third Hokage raised his cup to take a sip, "If you were still Hokage, what would you do?"

Kanoko looked down at her tea, thinking. Her eyes snapped up, "Pass the honor to the Village Hidden in the Sand."

The Hokage coughed, choking on his tea, "How could you possibly suggest such a thing?!" Cleaning his face, he continued, "Refusing to hold the Chunin Exams would signal to the other nations our weakness! Even more so, giving the right to the sand village would mean sending our genin and jounin to their lands for testing. Wouldn't the risk be the same?"

Kanoko gave Hiruzen an unimpressed looked, "Yes and no." Kanoko raised her hand and held a finger in the air, "One: The major contention between the leaf and sand villages is economics. The wind daimyo has lost faith in his country's ninjas. The leaf village has profited from this, as the leaf village continues to be selected and paid for more and more of the wind country's missions. If we give the chunin exams to the sand, they will receive money from the tourist coming to view the event and be able to demonstrate to their daimyo their strength."

Kanoko added another finger, "Two: If we enter into an agreement with the Village Hidden in the Sand, given them rights over this year's chunin exams, we can earn back a reluctant allegiance."

Kanoko closed her eyes thinking, " _I understand the need to replenish after two long wars, but stability among allies should have been a pressing concern as well._ "

Opening her eyes again, she added a third finger, "Three: With a healthy amount of rumors being spread out through civilian channels to the Lightening and Stone countries, we can lead them to believe this is a sign of good will to our allies – strengthening ties."

The Hokage gave Kanoko a pointed look, "Couldn't that just back fire on us? Lead them to believe we are preparing to war?"

Kanoko breathed in and out, "If the situation is that fragile, then allowing the chunin exams to take place here, where we can be infiltrated, would certainly bring war. Any infiltration, no matter how small, will demonstrate weakness to the other nations and they will attacked – that is, if the situation is truly that dire."

Kanoko looked at her former student seriously, "I do not believe this to be the case." She bowed her head slight, "However, as you stated, I am in a 12 year-old's body. I am not the Hokage I once was and much time has passed. I ultimately leave this decision up to you."

Taking one last sip before getting up. Kanoko stood by the table and said, "I asked you to protect those who love the village and those who believe in you. I look around and to be honest, there is very little I recognize." Kanoko paused placed her hand on Hiruzen's shoulder, "But I see the Will of Fire in so many of their eyes. I see peace and warmth in the streets. It's not perfect, but you have followed my brother's will – and for that, I am grateful I chose you as my successor, Hiruzen."

0000000000000000000000000000000

Kanoko walked under the roof leading to the apartment door. She stood in front of a door with a small piece of paper on it and a red swirl drawn on the paper.

Looking up, almost turning around, she stills herself. She reaches up to the door, her hand in the shape of a fist, and knocks lightly on the door.

She waits for a half a second before starting to run away, " _Oh, looks like he's not here, that's just too bad. Couldn't be helped._ "

*SLAM*

The door swings open roughly, a crumbled Naruto standing at the door. All he had on was his orange pants and a black shirt.

Naruto stares at Kanoko, with a dark look, not saying anything or moving.

Kanoko sighs and raises the bag she is holding, "I brought Ichiraku Ramen and the newest release of the "Power Ninjas: Operation Overdrive"."

.

.

.

Naruto's face quickly went from depressed to shocked to overjoyed before roughly grabbing the bag from Kanoko and running back inside.

Kanoko sweat-dropped. " _He didn't even move that fast in the mission to the Land of Waves!_ " Kanoko turned around, hands in pockets, and started to walk away.

She didn't make it that far.

Before she knew what happened, three Narutos grabbed her and dragged her into Naruto's apartment.

Kanoko's claws sunk into the door frame. There was no way she was going in there! She had been there once before and was still queasy from the experience!

0000000000000000000000000

Kanoko was leaning against Naruto's bed, on the ground, looking green in the face. Naruto was sitting crisscrossed next to her, cheering at the TV, ramen in front of him. Kanoko gazed at the empty cups of ramen scattered across the floor.

She sniffed, and looked to her left and saw some moldy milk spilled next to her.

Her cheeks inflated as she ran to Naruto's bathroom.

.

And right back out.

.

She jumped on his bed and stuck her head out the window, puking her guts out.

"ACK! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE PUKING!" Some yelled below.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000

After the movie **finally** finished, Naruto turned to Kanoko.

Not that Kanoko noticed.

Her soul had left her body.

Returning to a better place…

.

Naruto crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Kanoko. Kanoko sighed and sat up straight, "Naruto. I'm not going to apologize for protecting you in the Land of Waves. I would do it again if it meant your, Sakura's, or Kakashi-sensei's life."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but Kanoko stopped him, "But I will apologize for how I went about it. I know you. You attach yourself so quickly to those to dub as friends. I don't understand it, but that's my problem." Kanoko paused thinking about Hashirama and how he was the same way: So trusting, making friends from enemies and wishing the best intentions for everyone.

"I may not understand it, but I did know you cared about Haku. I disregarded your feels by using him in such a manner. Beyond that, I never helped you through it. The death of a friend is always difficult." Kanoko closed her eyes.

"That is my failure. I abandoned you when you needed me most. I appointed myself as the leader of this team, but I failed to recognize your feels, respect them, and support you – to remind you that you are not alone and shouldn't suffer alone."

Kanoko looked Naruto in the eyes, "You will never be alone again, got it? You now have Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, and I looking out for you – always." Kanoko finished, placing her hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto looked to the ground. He started gritting his teeth while his fist started tightening. He was shaking and Kanoko wondered if he was going to take a swing at her.

She held her ground, expression unchanged. If he was going to hit her, oh well, she felt as though she deserved it after all she did to him.

Kanoko twitch slightly as Naruto flew towards her.

.

Wrapped around her was one Uzumaki Naruto – giving her a bone crushing hug. When she heard him sniffle, she moved her hand to pat his back in comfort.

.

Kanoko looked up to the ceiling, " _Why does everyone feel the need to bear hug me?_ "

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sakura was sitting on the bridge railing while Kanoko was leaning against it with her arms crossed. Kanoko turned her head, feeling a certain chakra run their way.

Naruto ran up, waving his arm, "Sakura-chan! Hey! How are you?!" Naruto smiled at Sakura before turning to Kanoko, "Sup Kanoko!"

Kanoko slightly smiled and shrugged.

Sakura looked between the two, confused. "You two made up?" She asked pointing a finger between the two.

"Hai!" Naruto replied laughing before going into a review of the movie, "Power Ninjas: Operations Overdrive".

It was a few hours later that Kakashi finally made his entrance. "Yo!"

"You're LATE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled.

"Well… Anyways… I have news!" Kakashi said with a one-eyed smile.

Naruto started jumping up and down, "Is it a mission?! Please be another C-rank, please!"

Kakashi looked up with his hand on his chin in thought, "Well, it's kind of like a mission. You see, twice a year genin are selected to represent their village and compete, demonstrating their skills to their superiors. If they get far enough and show enough promise, they are selected to receive the promotion to chunin."

Naruto and Sakura were listening in carefully. Naruto had stars in his eyes and giggling thinking about making chunin before Sasuke.

Kanoko raised her hand, "Sensei, are you recommending Team 7?"

Kakashi smiled and responded, "I am. Of course, it's still your individual choice to partake or not. You don't have to, if you don't want to. It won't affect your teammates if you decide against taking the exam. I'm not going to lie to you. The exam is very difficult and some genin have died in these exams. There will be genin at all skill levels there: Ones that have been genin for a few years and genin for different villages. And not all of these villages are on good terms with the leaf village either."

Sakura looked down, unsure of herself, thinking about all the dangers and if she was strong enough to make it.

Kanoko knew that the choice to partake in the exams was a team decision, but understood that Kakashi was trying to give them an out, if they were unsure. He was right, to compete halfheartedly would get them all injured or kill.

Kakashi held out three pieces of paper, "Here are the application forms."

Naruto stared at the forms then back at Kakashi, then back to the forms, before he leaped and incased Kakashi in a hug – almost knocking him over.

" _Ha! It's nice to see someone else fall victim to the bear hug!_ " Kanoko thought with a smirk.

"Don't- Don't slobber on my vest!" Kakashi exclaimed, throwing Naruto off of him and dusting himself off. "You have until 5am, 3 days from now to decide. If you decide to take the exams, pack in preparation for a month long mission and meet me at the village gates." Kakashi made a few hand signs and teleported away.

"Wait-! Dammit…" Kanoko called to her sensei before sighing. " _I wanted to ask him about the exams… Oh well. I guess I get to find out with the rest of the genin._ "

Naruto started spinning around, giggling. Kanoko and Sakura just sweat-dropped.

0000000000000000000000000000000000

"YAWWWWWWWN"

Kanoko's eye twitched. She was on her bed, leaning against the headboard reading a scroll on Suna's Demon Desert – as they liked to call it. Kanoko knew using her water jutsus were going to be draining, in such extreme heats. She was reading about the plant life there – in case she needed the extra water in a pinch.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAWWN"

*eye twitch*

Kanoko slowly moved her eyes to the [waste of space] person next to her: Shikamaru. He raised an eyebrow at her, seeing her small glare, "Sorry. Is my *yaaaawn* yawning bothering you?" He was lying on the bed, in his normal pose, with his hands behind his head.

" _Your entire presence in MY room bothers me._ " Kanoko thought, closing her eyes while turning her head away from her brother.

"YAWWWWWW-"

*CRASH*

Kanoko kicked him roughly – right off the bed in one swift movement.

"Arrrrg…. That hurt… Damn, troublesome woman…" Shikamaru muttered, rubbing his head. He turned onto his side, not moving from the floor, and resting his head in his hand – elbow on the floor for support, "So, *yawn* I take it that your team was nominated too?"

Kanoko looked up at the ceiling, " _You're rolling around in your grave laughing at me, aren't you Hashirama? I bet you find this hilarious!_ "

Kanoko ignored her brother and kept reading her scroll. She had a lot to do in a short amount of time and she wasn't going to waste it by answering questions her brother already knows the answer to. He's just looking to pick a fight anyways.

*plop*

"Uff!" Kanoko squeak out from the sudden weight on top of her. He brother was now lying right over her stomach. She looked down at her scroll she dropped when her brother jumped on her, "You're a brat, you know that?"

Shikamaru just shrugged before turning around to his side, looking up at her, "You know the chunin exams are going to be Suna this time?" Kanoko stared at him like he was an idiot, then at her scroll, where the title was large and obvious: Suna's Vegetation. She face-palmed.

Her brother continued, "According to Tou-san, relations between Suna and Konoha are strained. If that's not bad enough, we'll be in unfamiliar territory with everyone within reaching distance, a fellow contestant in this little survival test. *sigh* The whole thing's a drag."

Shikamaru pulled at a string on the bottom of Kanoko's shirt, "To top it all off, we have to face our own comrades in battle too. What's the point of becoming a chunin if you have to step on your friends to get there?"

Kanoko was a little surprised at Shikamaru's question. She knew friendship was important to him. All anyone had to do was look at Choji and Shikamaru together to figure that out. Shikamaru even treated Naruto and Kiba well, dubbing them all "the losers", and they most certainly got on his last nerve.

Kanoko continue to look at Shikamaru in wonder, before asking, "What if we don't?"

Shikamaru lazily moved his head to meet her eyes, "…We form an alliance of our own?" Shikamaru said, reading her mind.

Kanoko nodded, "Or something of that nature."

"What about the other leaf ninja teams? What if they take offense?" Shikamaru asked, concluding this truce would occur only between the rookie nine.

"We have to be stealthy about this whole thing anyways, or we'll become a target either way." Kanoko rubbed her chin with her hand, "The bigger question is: How do we convince Sasuke? With Sakura and Naruto on my team and Ino on yours, it's going to prove challenging to convince him.

Shikamaru smirk, sitting up, "We don't have to convince Sasuke."

Kanoko disagreed, "The only way this works, is if all rookie nine are in."

Shikamaru shrugged, "I just meant that we only have to convince the other members of Team 8."

"I could see us convincing the Inuzuka, but the Hyuuga?" Kanoko knew of the Hyuuga's clan pride and wasn't sure they could convince a Hyuuga to team up with them. It would be easier to convince Sasuke…

Shikamaru chuckled, "You didn't communicate with Hinata much, did you?"

Kanoko shook her head.

"Leave that to me then." With that, Shikamaru rolled over to his side of the bed. Before turning off the lights, he looked back, "I'll have to borrow one of your teammates though."

Kanoko approved with a wave of her hand.

.

Kanoko wasn't she what good Sakura was going be to Shikamaru, but maybe she and Hinata were friends or something…

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Shikamaru strolled up to Naruto, who was eating ramen at Ichiraku's.

"Oi. Naruto. I need your help with something…"

Naruto stared at Shikamaru confused.


	18. Chapter 17

It was early in the morning, before the day started for most, but gathered at the gates were close to a hundred people.

Many of the people present were there to show support for their child or sibling who was about to leave for a long trip to the Sand Village. Kanoko couldn't place them all, but she counted at least ten teams, not including the rookies, gathered here.

"Kanoko!" Kanoko turned around, hearing her name. Naruto ran over to her, waving as usual. "Man I am so pumped! This is going to be awesome! I'm going to pass this test, placing first, and showing that bastard Sasuke that I'm the best! Believe it! And then, they'll have to give me the Hokage's position! The old man's going to be like…"

Kanoko tuned Naruto out. When he got on a rant like this, there was no stopping it. Better to just wait it out. Kanoko looked over to the Uchiha, who, coincidently wasn't standing too far away from Naruto and Kanoko. Sasuke looked over at Naruto and Kanoko. He gave Kanoko a nod before turning around to his team.

" _Shikamaru managed to convince them, huh?_ " Kanoko thought.

"-Oh Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved Sakura over. She walked over slowly, looking a little uncertain as she stared at Sasuke.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Is everything alright?"

Sakura just looked at Sasuke again before turning to Kanoko, "H-Hai."

"Well, well, well, look what we have hear? Who dragged the forehead in?"

Kanoko sighed, " _It's too early for a Sakura/Ino incident._ " Suddenly feeling the need to call the situation "troublesome".

"Troublesome… It's too early for this Ino." Shikamaru told her, strolling up slowly, on the same page with his sister.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the three stooges!" Naruto laughed at Team 10.

Kanoko smirk, taking enjoyment in the insult – if the shoe fits…

"Why you! Ah, whatever, you're not worth it." Her brother said, turning his head in irritation.

Before Naruto could respond, Kanoko called out, "Naruto. Remember what I told you?" Naruto sulked before nodding and crossing his arms.

At this point, Team 8 decided to join in on the commotion, "G-Good morning, N-Nar-ruto-kun…" Hinata squeaked out, pressing her fingers together.

"Well, it looks like the whole band's here!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru agreed with a bark.

Kanoko looked at her brother, then at her team, then to the group. She closed her eyes and smirk before looking pass the gates.

Soon they would all be in Wind Country.

.

"Ah!"

Kanoko jerked her head to the sound.

"A ninja like you is never going to make chunin!" A large kid said, knocking down a green clad ninja.

" _That ninja… He reminds me of someone…_ " Kanoko thought looking at the ninja with the bowl cut, trying to remember.

"Hey! Knock it off!"

" _Oh Naruto… Why do you always have to be the hero…_ "Kanoko gave Naruto's back a deadpan look.

"Naruto! Wait!" Sakura exclaimed, chasing after Naruto.

Naruto grabbed the large ninja by his collar, "Who do you think you are?! Telling him that he can't make chunin!" The rest of the rookie nine walked up at this point, interested in the scene.

"This ninja isn't even a ninja! He can't use any ninjutsu! I went to the academy with him! He's just a bottom ranked loser! Ninja's like him should just give up and go home! If he even has a home!" The boy yelled back.

That… Was the wrong thing to say to Naruto.

"Why you…!" Naruto said before bringing his fist back for a punch. He was stopped before he could make contact. The green-clad ninja held Naruto's hand in place with little effort.

"You're youthful spirit in defense of my honor warms me greatly! But I can't allow you to harm a fellow leaf comrade! Such actions would be unyouthful!" He yelled loudly, his round eyes wide and thick rectangular-like eyebrows pointed down.

Face-palming, Kanoko closed her eyes in thought, " _Nope. Definitely blaming the Uchiha for all the crazies in this village._ "

"Lee! I thought you're the one who said to keep a low profile." A Hyuuga walked up to Lee with a kunoichi following him.

"Yes. I am sorry." Lee mumbled with his head down. The kunoichi just shrugged with her hands up, "Well, nothing we can do now." The one known as Lee turned and walked over to Kanoko.

He stopped in front of her and bowed into a 90 degree angle.

" _What the..?_ " Kanoko thought, a single eyebrow raised.

"My name is Rock Lee and you are the most beautiful lady in all of Konoha!"

Kanoko froze, as if she was just turned to stone. All the rookie nine stared, shock on their faces.

Lee continued, "I understand that this may come as a shock, but please know that my feelings are true!"

Shikamaru was stuck between laughing at his sister for her misfortune and siccing Choji's human bolder on Lee for daring to hit on his sister.

Kanoko stopped breathing. She hoped this would never happen! Her eyes started jerking left and right, looking for an escape route.

"Please Sakura! Go out with me! I promise to protect you with my life!" He finished with a twinkle in his eye and a thumbs up.

Kanoko looked behind her and realized he was talking to Sakura.

.

" _THANK EVERYTHING THAT IS HOLY IN THIS WORLD!_ " Kanoko thought, walking off to the side, holding her heart – she nearly had a heart attack.

Kanoko looked back at Sakura's horrified face.

"No." Sakura replied plainly.

.

"Wha…? Why not…" Lee asked depressed.

Kanoko grabbed Sakura and Naruto before this could continue and walked towards the gate, where she thought she saw a certain scarecrow, "Come on you two. Play time is over."

"Hey!" The male Hyuuga called after Team 7, "Who are you?"

Naruto pulled from Kanoko's grasp to answer before she smacked her hand over his mouth, dragging him along again. "What did I tell you about talking to strangers, Naruto?" Kanoko asked plainly, not really wanting an answer.

Naruto just "hmphed" as he got dragged away.

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They all stood before the Hokage, who was standing on a stage. Team 7 was together with Kakashi-sensei, ready for the journey ahead.

The Hokage let out a mouthful of smoke, "You all have been selected to represent the Village Hidden in the Leaves in the chunin exams, taking place in the Village Hidden in the Sand. It is your duty as a ninja and you're responsibly to your home to represent us with the upmost care, respect, and dignity. I am not asking you to act as Samurai, but I am reminding you that many people will be watching your actions at all times. Ninja, villagers, future clients, all will be watching and judging you. Act accordingly."

The Hokage paused before continuing, "These exams are not meant to be easy. Many of you we will see soon. Do not get discouraged, there is always another exam, six months from now – don't be reckless, simply in the effort to win. Watch out for your fellow leaf nin and do not attack others unprovoked. Becoming chunin is your secondary mission here – bringing back your comrades alive is your primary."

The Hokage looked to the stone faced mountains before focusing his eyes on Kanoko, "All shinobi of the Leaf Village have the Will of Fire in them. Do not forget that and do not betray that will in the face of the trials to come."

"And with that, you are dismissed to start your journey to Suna, the Village Hidden in the Sand!" The Hokage finished.

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Kakashi whistled as he got to a really good part in his book, walking passed the gates, away from the growing sandstorm.

"YAHOO! We're finally here!" Naruto cheered, jumping in the air.

Sakura followed Naruto dragging her feet, "It's sooo hot! Why did the exams have to be in a desert? I need a shower! And a bed!"

Kanoko walked in behind Sakura, hands in pockets, observing her surroundings silently.

Naruto looked around before saying, "This place looks weird… Is this really the Sand Village?"

Kakashi turned to his students, "Actually, this isn't the Village Hidden in the Sand. Suna is actually a ways from here. This is known as the Demon Desert Checkpoint."

"WHA?! But I thought we were going to the Sand Village?!" Sakura complained, thinking her hopes of finding a shower or at least a real bed were lost.

Kanoko took a look around. It was very different from the Leaf Village. There was no visible vegetation and all the buildings were similar in design: tan and dome-like. The sand when on for miles and surrounding the checkpoint was a large stone wall – incasing the outpost in a circle. All in all, it looked like a fortress.

" _I hope the plan isn't to hold the final round in this place. I would be upset too if I was the Daimyo and I was forced to reside in such conditions._ " Kanoko thought, noting the lack of shops and other forms of entertainment, before Kakashi spoke again, "We'll only be here for the first and second rounds. The final round will take place in Suna. Well… if you guys make it that far."

"You're just full of laughs! You know that sensei!" Naruto told Kakashi, irritated in his teacher's lack of faith.

"In any case, I'm supposed to meet the gang – you know, us elite jounin – so, have fun my cute little students!" And with that, Kakashi teleported away.

" _Hn. I wouldn't be surprised if the betting wars haven't already started. No doubt sensei has gone to put money down…_ " Kanoko thought, wondering who he was betting on.

.

.

.

"WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?!" Naruto and Sakura yelled at the smoke left by Kakashi.

Kanoko face-palmed, realizing that their sensei didn't tell them where they were staying.

"Haha! Abandoned by your own sensei, that's just sad forehead!"

Team 7 turned around to see Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji walk up.

"Ug! I thought we got rid of you, Ino-pig." Sakura scoffed, crossing her arms.

Kanoko raised her hand, "I apologize. I have a curse that allows Shikamaru to locate me, anywhere in the world. I have tried to remove this curse, but Kaa-san says I'm not allowed to kill my own brother." Kanoko finished with an expressionless face and tone.

"KANOKO!" Shikamaru yelps, embarrassed by his sister.

"HAHA! That's hilarious!" Naruto laughs, pointing at Shikamaru, holding his stomach.

"Why are you people so loud…"

Kanoko looked over and saw Sasuke followed by Hinata and Kiba.

"NO ONE INVITED YOU TEME!" Naruto yelled pointing at Sasuke.

"Hn!" Was Sasuke's elegant reply.

It wasn't long before the all of the rookie nine were at each other's throats.

.

Kanoko face-palmed, " _There're worse than a group of three-year-olds learning to share for the first time._ "

Sighing, Kanoko tried to interrupt the embarrassing fight, "Hey."

.

No response.

.

"HEY!" She tried again.

Naruto's shoe flew passed Kanoko. He, for a reason beyond her, took it off to throw it at Sasuke.

Kanoko crossed her arms and sucked in some air, pulling out her inner Tobirama, she barked, "LISTEN UP YOU BRATS!"

Everyone froze.

Sakura was currently pulling back on Naruto's face, who was trying to kick Sasuke in the face with his bare foot, who was being glomped from behind by Ino, who was trying to get pulled off by Shikamaru, who was being yelled at by Kiba for stepping on Akamaru's tail, who's shirt was being pulled by Hinata – trying to calm him. And Choji… Good dependable Choji was just standing there, munching on some chips peacefully.

"Great. Now that I have your attention, did anyone's sensei tell them where our lodging would be for the night?" Kanoko asked calmly with her arms crossed.

Everyone exchanged glances before becoming depressed.

Kanoko sighed.

She had a feeling she would be doing a lot of that in the future.

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 _ **Several Days Ago**_

"ARGGG!"

A table flew across the room, smashing into a wall. Standing in the room, panting from anger, was a tall man in a green and white robe.

"Hmm, yes, this does complicate things. Who knew the Sand and the Leaf would form such an alliance?" A boy said wistfully with a smirk. He walked over to the documents on the table, pushing them around to get a look at the agreement. "And it looks like the entire Sand Council is also aware and in agreement… Convincing them to turn against the Leaf now would look suspicious…"

The man sharply turned around and glared at the boy, "It was YOUR job to inform me of something like this! Now I have to smile and shake that old fool's hand as the Kazekage! The only reason I risked killing the Kazekage was to convince the Sand Village to attack the Leaf." The man gritted his teeth, "That old man… He did this purposely… HE KNEW!" The man slashed through another table nearby.

The boy watched his master, waiting for him to calm.

The robed man destroyed a few more objects before breathing slowly and standing up straight, "We will just have to use this… Exam… To our advantage." The man say down on a chair – the only one left – before bringing his hands together in a thoughtful pose.

"Kabuto. You will take part in the exams again this year. See what you can find out." He leaned back with an evil smirk, "If that old fool thinks he's walking away from this…" He started laughing loudly, "He better take a good look at his precious village, because that's the last time he will see it!"

The one called Kabuto just smirked and bowed to his master before teleporting away.

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 _ **Present Day**_

Kanoko laid down on her bunk. She stared up at the bed above her. All the teams were given a room for the night. The exams would begin tomorrow after breakfast. Kanoko chuckled lowly to herself, " _How nice of them to feed us before sending us to the slaughter._ "

Kanoko frowned, thinking of the chunin exams. They had evolved so much from when she first instituted it. She believed it would bring fairness, as well as sanity to the promotional process. For too long, they had given genin a promotion to chunin, not fully understanding how much more responsibility and danger they were placing on their shoulders.

As Tobirama, her intention was to show both the genin, and their teachers, that they were either ready for that massive step or they weren't. It was also a great way to assess the skills of your genin, without having to spend hours talking to each jounin instructor.

Tobirama liked efficiency.

Kanoko smirked at herself. She created many things in the name of efficiency.

Kanoko rolled over, trying to go to sleep. She needed all the rest she could get.

It was going to be a long couple of days.

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"YAHOO! Sakura-chan! Kanoko! WAKE UP!" Naruto yelled, ripping the covers from their beds.

Sakura screeched, "NAAARUTO! THAT IS NOT HOW YOU WAKE UP A LADY!" Jumped down from her bunk with a pillow in her hand and started beating Naruto with it.

"AHH! SAKURA-CHAN!"

Naruto tried to get out an apology, but it was muffled by the pillow, Sakura was now trying to smother Naruto with.

Kanoko calmly walked over to Sakura and put a hand on her shoulder, "I understand your pain Sakura, but we need three members to compete. It would be a shame to turn back after coming all this way, don't you agree?"

Sakura looked at Naruto, his eyes were swirling, "I guess you're right… You better not embarrass me in front of Sasuke, Naruto!" With that, Sakura stomped away to get ready.

After getting dressed, Kanoko called Naruto and Sakura over.

She handed them each a necklace. It was just a simple string necklace with a flat wood end piece. On it was a circle around another circle, with six lines sticking out from the inner circle – much like the design on her palm.

"Wear these under your shirts. Under **NO** circumstance are you to remove them. I don't care if they're on fire. And if the string gets cut, put it in your pocket, but do not allow it to leave your person." Kanoko explained sternly.

Naruto held it close to his face, "What is it?"

"It's something that allows me to get to you, in the case we get separated." Kanoko replied, " _Or if you're about to be killed._ " Kanoko thought before pulling out six scrolls.

"You each get three. The green one has food. The blue one has drinking water. And the yellow on has medical supplies. Do not lose these either. They are your life lines. To activate them, just apply chakra like normal."

Naruto and Sakura both took three scrolls and placed them on their persons.

Kanoko shuffled around her backpack to pull out one last item, "Do you see what this is?"

Shocked, Naruto replied, "Yeah it-" "Don't say it out loud." Kanoko interrupted before continuing, "If we get separated and there's a risk that one of us is compromised, we will asked the suspicious one what I just pulled out, ok?"

Naruto and Sakura nodded, "Hai!"

Kanoko smiled slightly before sitting back and thinking. Had she thought of everything? She turned around and started checking things again when she felt weight on her shoulder.

She turned around to smiling faces, "Don't worry Kanoko! Team 7's in this together! Nothing's going to stand in our way! Believe it!"

Naruto and Sakura's grins widened.

Kanoko just looked at them with a bewildered face before softening to a small smile.

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There was more than a hundred genin at attention, waiting for their assignment.

Kanoko looked around. She saw many villages she knew and a few she didn't. Leaf, Sand, Cloud, Stone, Rain, Grass and others she wasn't familiar with. She also saw a headband of a Village she had never seen, but recently heard about:

The Sound.

A sand jounin stepped up to the stage, standing tall with his hands behind his back, "You are all here to take part in the Chunin Exams hosted by the Village Hidden in the Sand. This is your last chance to go home. It's entirely likely you will die during this exam, so if you do not have the stomach, turn around and leave now!"

The proctor paused, giving the genin an opportunity to leave. None did.

"Then we will get started with the first test."

The Proctor walked over to a table behind him, "Select a team member to come up here and grab a scroll. After that team member has grabbed it, they will stand over there to wait for further instructions." The proctor indicated to a sectioned off area to the right of the stage.

Naruto turned to Kanoko and Sakura and started jumping up and down with stars in his eyes, "Oo! Oo! Me! Pick me!"

Kanoko and Sakura exchanged looks before Kanoko sighed and held out her arm, indicating that Naruto could go get it.

With a large grin on his face, he ran over to the line. Kanoko noticed that Ino and Sasuke joined him.

"Oooo! That Ino-pig! She did that on purpose!" Sakura growled shaking her fist at Ino, who stuck her tongue out at Sakura.

All the teams grabbed a scroll and walked over to the sectioned off area.

Kanoko face-palmed when Naruto started waving excitedly to his team.

The proctor started again, "Now that all teams have a scroll, we will begin. You're mission is to rescue your teammate from the trap using the scroll they possess. Caution: If time runs out, your teammate will die."

Naruto's face went white.

"WHHHAAT!" Ino exclaimed, looking for an escape route.

The proctor continued, "Your mission will occur in the field behind this curtain." He gestured to the large tan curtain behind him. It fell, revealing a large space. The entire area was covered in sand, with glass boxes standing seven feet tall from the sand. There had to be forty or more glass boxes.

Suddenly Naruto, Ino, Sasuke, and all of the other contestants were teleported inside the glass boxes.

"Breaking, scratching, or damaging these boxes in anyway disqualifies you. The only way you can save your teammate from death is by solving the riddle in the scroll." The proctor smirked.

Kanoko narrowed her eyes, focusing on the genin in the boxes. Some were yelling, but no sound could be heard.

"Of course, the barrier is sound proof, so learning what the riddle is will be half the challenge." He crossed his arms before finishing with, "Good luck!"

Kanoko and Sakura sprinted over to Naruto's box.

He was panicking before he pulled out a kunai to shatter the box.

"NO!" Sakura yelled making an "x" with her hands. Naruto stopped and they could see him saying "what", but started banging on the glass yelling.

"Naruto STOP!" Sakura tried again, waving her arms dramatically around at him.

Kanoko gritted her teeth and looked down at the bottom of the box. Sand was filling the box. " _Shit._ "

"Sakura look." Kanoko pointed to Naruto's feet. "We need to get him out of there!" Sakura yelled, watching Naruto – who just realized that the box was filling up with sand.

"We need to find a way to get Naruto to show us the scroll." Kanoko told Sakura. Sakura stared back at Kanoko before reaching into her pack and grabbing the scroll Kanoko gave to her. It looked similar to the one given to Naruto by the proctor.

"Naruto! Scroll!" Sakura yelled, holding up the scroll to the glass pointing at it.

Naruto's face went blank with confusion until a light bulb went off and he grabbed the scroll.

The one Kanoko gave him.

Kanoko slapped her face at Naruto's stupidity.

"NARUTO! YOU IDIOT! THE OTHER SCROLL!" Sakura yelled, her hair flaring up.

Watching his teammates' reaction, he made an "o" with his mouth before putting it away and grabbing the scroll from the proctor.

Sakura opened her scroll and held it to the glass, hoping Naruto would do the same.

He did. Thank goodness.

Kanoko and Sakura stuck their faces up to the glass, "Solve this riddle and write the answer below: What do the poor have, that the rich need, but if you eat it, you'll die?" Sakura read out loud.

Kanoko looked at Sakura who looked back, both confused. Kanoko swiveled her head around to her brother's location. He was sitting down in his thinking pose, looking just as stumped. Kanoko looked back at Sakura and said, "You're the one that reads stuff like this."

Sakura squeaked, "But! I don't know this one!"

Kanoko rubbed her face aggressively, "Well I got nothing either!"

Sakura stared back at Kanoko with an open mouth, "Nothing! That's it!"

"Nothing?" Kanoko repeated.

"Yes! The answer to the riddle! The poor have nothing, the rich need nothing, and you'll die if you eat nothing!" She screaming in joy, jumping up and down.

.

…They both looked at each other with depressed looks.

How do you communicate the word "nothing" to Naruto.

Kanoko started searching her pockets, "Sakura do you have a pen?!" "No!"

The both turned slowly to Naruto.

He was pressed against the glass, slowly falling down the glass with tears in his eyes, mouth wide open and drool coming out. The sand was at his waist now.

" _R.I.P. Naruto. You were a one of a kind._ " Kanoko thought bowing slightly.

"KANOKO!" Sakura yelled at her teammate.

Kanoko looked back at her, "Well, you figured out the riddle. How do we tell Naruto the answer?"

Sakura looked around in a panic, trying to get her brain to work.

They looked back and saw Naruto banging on the glass again. The sand was up to his chest now. Sakura looked back at Kanoko, "I don't know what to do! We need to get Naruto out of there!"

Kanoko gritted her teeth, " _If only we could carve it on the glass… but that's against the rules… Carve…_ " Kanoko's lightbulb lit up and she reached into her pouch and grabbed a kunai.

"Kanoko, what are you… KANOKO!" Sakura yelled when she saw Kanoko carve the "Write word "Nothing" into her arm, then press the bloody mess on the glass.

Naruto looked shocked before narrowing his eyes to read it, grabbing a pen, and writing it down.

"Seriously? He's the one with a pen?" Kanoko growled out.

The sand stopped rising and everyone sighed.

Kanoko looked around to the other contestants. Some were broken out of the box and the rest were sitting by their teammate's box, waiting for the next step.

"I guess we have to wait for the next step?" Sakura asked Kanoko with her pointer finger pressed to her chin.

The proctor's voice came over the intercom, "Time's up! Either you solved the riddle, broke your teammate out, or they died. All those disqualified or are now permanently down a team member, leave!"

Kanoko watched a few teams leave. She looked for her classmates and found Sasuke with barely any sand in his box and Ino's only a third full.

Kanoko gave the other teams a blank stare. Naruto's box was three quarters full…

The proctor "poofed" back to the stage, and yelled to the remain ninja, "Now that the failures are gone, we are going to move to the second part of the Chunin Exam! Come to the front of the stage and we will guide you to the next field."

"What about our trapped teammate?!" A ninja in the crowd yelled.

The proctor raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Them? Casualty, back luck, call it whatever you like, they were stupid enough to volunteer as bait, so they aren't moving forward. No come along. I don't have all day." He finished waving the genin forward.

Some of the genin looked back at their teammate before walking away to the stage.

Sakura looked at Kanoko worried, "What?! But we can't leave Naruto!" She looked back at Naruto in the glass. He looked confused since he couldn't hear anything.

Sakura looked down before continuing, "He's annoying and stupid and… and…" Sakura closed her eyes and shook her fists, "We can't leave him Kanoko! He's our teammate and those that turn their backs on their teammates are worse than scum!" She yelled out.

Kanoko looked at Sakura with a raised eyebrow, "I wasn't planning on it, but thank you for the heart felt speech." Kanoko finished with a small smirk.

Sakura blushed and mumbled underneath her breath.

The proctor's head grew a tick before yelling, "Worse than scum, huh?! Well if that's your choice. All of you standing in front of the stage…" The proctor closed his eyes before opening them with a wicked grin, "YOU FAIL!" And then they all dropped through a trap on the ground.

The proctor laughed before gesturing. With that gesture, one of the glass walls to the boxes fell. With it came the excess sand in the box and their teammates.

"Those of you that stayed with your teammate passed!" And with that, he walked away.

"SAKURA-CHAN! KANOKO! YOU SAVED ME!" Naruto cried leaping towards them, going in for a hug. They both side-stepped, letting Naruto hit the ground – face first, legs in the air.

Naruto stood up to complain when they all heard a loud "boom" from the stage. Standing there was another male sand ninja. This one looking at the group with a cold stare.

"Well, well. I wonder how many of you will survive this next test…" He said eerily, looking around at the genin. "Meet me at the west point tower, from there I will explain your journey across the demon desert…" And with that, he teleported away.

.

All the genin started moving slowly to the tower, but Naruto decided to run ahead – excited to prove himself. Sakura followed after him, "Naruto! Wait!" Kanoko just followed her team slowly.

*THUD*

Kanoko watched as Naruto slammed straight into the back of another genin – knocking her straight into the sand, face first.

"Why you little BRAT?!" She yelled at Naruto, pulling him in close to her face by his collar.

Naruto sweat-dropped and nervously responded, "Uhh… Haha… Oops?"

Sakura ran up from behind, "I'm so sorry! My teammate's an idiot, please forgive him!" Sakura bowed to show her regret.

Kanoko took a look at the kunoichi and her team. She was fairly tall – must be older than her teammates – with sandy blond hair pulled into four short pig-tails. She had a large black fan on her back and Kanoko noted that her and her teammates were Sand Village nin.

Kanoko gaze shifted to the boys, one was dress in black with purple face paint and a large wicker-coffin on his back. He was standing with his arms crossed smirking at his female teammate, as if he was enjoying the scene.

The last one was barely paying any attention to his teammate and Naruto. He had bright red hair and Tobirama wondered if he had any relation to the Uzumaki clan. He was the smallest of the three, looking very childlike, but his eyes were anything but. Tobirama had seen eyes like that before. They reminded her of a time before peace, when the clans fought day and night. That was the look of a person who had nothing and no one to live for; that had loved and lost, but instead of finding peace or even vengeance, all they found was uncontrollable rage, hatred, and the thirst for blood.

Kanoko walked over to Naruto and the kunoichi before bowing as well, "My name is Nara Kanoko of the Leaf Village. My teammate was simply excited about the next phase of the exams and was unable to control himself. You would do us a great honor by showing mercy for his behavior." While Kanoko's tone was bland and her expression emotionless, she projected a strong aura. Communicating to this kunoichi to leave them be.

The kunoichi scoffed, but backed off when she felt the annoyed eyes of her companion, "Temari. We're leaving." The red head boy said simply, giving Kanoko a look before turning towards the tower.

The three left, leaving Team 7 to collect themselves before travelling in the same direction as the Sand nin.

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When Team 7 arrived, they found a spot near the front, to listen to the proctor.

"Surrounding us is an expanse of sand known as the Demon Desert. In this desert are creatures of unimaginable strength and stamina. Many are larger than a building, but fast as a hawk." He paused.

Kanoko heard various genin squeak at the mention of the sand monsters.

The proctor smirk, reminiscing, "You know, we used to assign this as an escort mission – you would be given a chunin to protect and escort to the tower in the center." He chuckled loudly, "But we lost too many chunin this way, so we're giving you scrolls instead!"

Several genin turned white. If chunin were dying… How did they expect a bunch of genin to make it?

"You each will be given a scroll. You will either get a heaven or earth scroll. Of course we will do this secretly in the building behind us" He motioned to the tower, "So none of you know who has what scroll before we start. You will also pick up a number at this time."

He then pointed to the wall, "Depending on your number, you will start at a designated place on the wall surrounding the outpost. When you are given the signal, you will be allowed to start."

Kanoko looked around the area, there weren't that many teams left, so the distance between each of them at the start would be large enough to avoid running into a team right off the bat.

"Your goal is to acquire either a heaven or earth scroll from another team. You will need each to be welcomed into the tower. You may not open the scrolls - doing so will disqualify you automatically. And last, you only have three days to gather your scrolls and make it to the center tower, located miles into the Demon Desert... Try not to die. There won't be anything left to bring home to your family if you do." He smiled wickedly, "The beasts will devour your corpse before any assistance could arrive."

With that, everyone was dismissed for a small break while teams gathered their scrolls.

Kanoko sent Sakura to grab it this time, before turning her head to catch her brother's gaze. Ino just returned with the scroll and signed in Leaf Code the number 16. Kanoko then turned her gaze to Sasuke, who also came back with his scroll. He signed the number 2.

" _That's far away from Shikamaru's team… This may prove to be challenging._ " Kanoko thought watching Sakura approach. She handed Kanoko the number: 23. Kanoko looked up, counting 24 teams in total. That mean Kanoko's team will be closest to Sasuke's. Kanoko gritted her teeth. She didn't like the idea that Shikamaru's team was going to take longer to get to. She would have preferred her team being the odd one out.

Kanoko signed to Sasuke and Shikamaru the number 23. Shikamaru's eyes widened a bit, understanding the additional risk his team would be facing.

Kanoko's attention was shifted when she heard the proctor's voice boom again, "OK, GET INTO POSITION! YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES!"

And with that, all the teams dispersed to their assigned locations.

Later, Kanoko wished she had caught the hungry gaze following Sasuke – then perhaps she could have prevented the whole thing.

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 _ **One Day Earlier**_

"Surely you aren't still planning to enter into the exams henged as a genin?" Kabuto ask calmly with an eyebrow raised.

The man scoffed, "Why are you being so impudent lately Kabuto? To answer your question, even though I don't have to, yes. Yes I am."

Kabuto shrugged, not really caring if his master kills him, "Just curious. You said that the Hokage knew of your plan to attack Konoha during the Chunin Exams, shouldn't that give you reason to avoid getting caught lurking around the exams?"

The man chuckled, "That's exactly why I'm going to attack during the second round. This way the Hokage is lead to believe that my intention all along was to grab the boy. He will likely still expect another attack, but it will divert his attention enough to put my plan in action. Hehe, he'll never see it coming…"

The man henged from the Kazekage into a normal looking Grass kunoichi, "And the last Uchiha… such an opportunity is difficult to pass up. I wonder how he'll fair… Being hunted like a mouse running from a snake…" The girl chuckled lowly.

Kabuto smirk wistfully at his master's cruelty, "I'd hate to be the mouse to your snake, Orochimaru…"


	19. Chapter 18

"Aaaaaaaaaaaeeii…. It's so hot!" Kiba whined, checking on Akamaru, making sure he was ok. After all, this was his first time in such hot climate and he did have a lot of fur.

"Hn. Hinata, do you see anything?" Sasuke asked, ignoring Kiba. The three (four) of them were currently running, to keep moving to avoid enemies.

"Hai! There's a team a few kilometers ahead. We can avoid them by going south." Hinata answered, keeping her gaze ahead.

Sasuke thought back to when he was assigned to Team 8. He's first thought was that they would drag him down. He did take comfort in the fact that he was placed on the same team as a Hyuuga. The Uchiha and the Hyuuga may have not had the best relationship in the past, but that was his clan – they were dead. He, himself, was just grateful to be put on a team with the heir to such a powerful clan.

Kiba on the other hand…

Sasuke wondered if Naruto would have made a better teammate…

.

No.

Not in a million years.

.

Team 8 started a bit rocky. Sasuke had his own agenda, Hinata couldn't string three words together, and Kurenai was at a loss – this was her first genin team.

To everyone's surprise, it was Kiba that brought them together.

Looking back, Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised. The Inuzuka clan had a pack mentality. You fought for the pack, you ate with the pack, and you lived for the pack. So when Kiba was thrown into a team with a lost teacher, a by-choice-loner, and a not-by-choice-loner, he immediately took the position as team builder and motivator.

Sasuke spent more days eating with a pack of dogs at the Inuzuka's compound than he liked… But it worked. Hinata stopped stuttering around them, Kurenai gain confidence in her teaching, and Sasuke saw potential in his team.

Kurenai started focusing on their complementary skills first. The best team combination that came out of their progress was surprisingly Hinata and Sasuke. Hinata's Byakugan was the perfect complement to Sasuke's fighting style – giving him the insight and back support he required to go all out. When Sasuke earned his Sharingan – on a particularly bad mission – their combination got even better.

The best part was Kiba didn't feel left out – in fact, it was preferred. You see, since Kiba wasn't force to partner with one of his teammates, it left him more room to focus on his and Akamaru's fighting style.

Is there a better team combination out there for Sasuke? There are probably many reasons why another team would be better for him or maybe not, but he didn't care.

He sort of liked his teammates.

Sort of.

And he was never going to say it out loud.

Not even under the threat of death.

.

"Let's head south. That's the direction of the dobe's team anyway." Sasuke responded.

Hinata blushed thinking about Naruto. She was happy when he and Shikamaru contacted her about a temporary truce. Honestly, she wasn't going to attack Naruto either way, but it gave her the opportunity to make him happy. She blushed again, thinking about his large grin at her that day.

Sasuke just ignored his teammate's fangirling moment. He was forever grateful that she wasn't a fangirl of his, but… Why did it have to be the dobe?

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Kanoko was on one knee, touching the ground with her eyes closed. She was looking for Sasuke's team. The open space made searching easier, but she was still limited in reach.

Naruto crossed his arms and kicked the sand, "Uugg! Why are we standing around?! Let's go kick some butt already!"

Sakura smack Naruto on the back of the head, "Because we agreed to meet up with the rest of the rookie nine! Now QUIET WHILE KANOKO LOOKS FOR SASUKE!"

Kanoko rolled her eyes before standing, " _If noise prevented me from searching for his chakra signature, I'd be here all day._ " She thought and then said, "They're heading our way from the North."

Kanoko indicated her team to follow her as they ran towards Sasuke's team, " _There's also another team following them. Hopefully we can handle this quickly._ "

Kanoko started making hand signs in Leaf code, hoping Hinata was watching.

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Hinata's eyes narrowed, reading Kanoko's hand signs. Focusing her range farther back behind her, she saw them. "Sasuke, Naruto's team is heading out way, but another team is closing in from behind."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, looking around for a good place to ambush them. It was difficult as it was just sand for miles. "Let's stop at this sand hill and ambush them. Hopefully we can get this done quickly."

"Hai!" Hinata and Kiba responded, taking positions.

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Kanoko stared ahead before telling Naruto and Sakura, "An enemy team has spotted Team 8. Prepare for battle."

Naruto jumped while running, "YES! Some action!" He continued to chuckle while running ahead.

Kanoko just sweat-dropped at his antics. " _Only he would be so excited to get in a fight_."

Sakura looked ahead worried, " _I hope Sasuke-kun is ok…_ "

As they approached Team 8, Naruto made three shadow clones before jumping into the scene, "UZUMAKI NARUTO, future Hokage! Here to save the day!" Naruto opened his eyes and looked around, "Huh?"

"Idiot. As if we couldn't handle a few ninja." Sasuke said, picking up the scroll from the opposing team. "A heaven scroll… Useless." Sasuke said before throwing it to Kanoko.

Kanoko grabbed it, "We don't need one either, but I will hold onto it, in case Team 10 has an earth scroll." She placed it in her pouch.

"He-ello. Naruto-o-kun…" Hinata said, with hands in front of her face. Poor Hinata though, Naruto was busy glaring at Sasuke.

Before another fight could break out, Kanoko intervened, "Standing here too long will gather attention. Let's move south west. We need to meet up with Team 10 before continuing any further."

Sasuke nodding, motioning his team to follow Kanoko.

*WHIIIIIIIRL*

Before they could make is very far, a large wind ripped through the air, forcing the six genin to take cover.

Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan, and saw a large snake running just beneath the sand – heading straight for Naruto and Kiba. "Naruto! Kiba! From below."

Both of their gazes jerked below, moving away from the large mouth of the snake, but just barely.

"Well, well. An Uchiha **and** a Hyuuga? On the same team? It must be my lucky day…" A girl slithered out, standing in front of her team, in the direction that the wind jutsu came from.

Kanoko planted her feet, pushing out her chakra to get a read on their power level. The two males were powerful enough to be considered chunin, but the girl… she was shielding her chakra. That wasn't a good sign.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the girl, not liking her over enthusiasm for his and his teammate's clan name. Sasuke was well aware of the desire others had over dojutsus like his and Hinata's.

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto yelled, his clones keeping an eye on the large snake behind them.

"Me? Oh, no one, just the person that's going to KILL YOU!" She told him before laughing, her tongue extending far out of her mouth.

"Sasuke, she's shielding her chakra. I have no idea how powerful she is, but the other two have enough chakra to be chunins." Kanoko stopped, shifting her eyes to look back at the snake, "And that's a summons… A ninja powerful enough to summon a snake that large is not something we can handle on our own."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, "You're telling us to run."

Naruto interrupted, "NO! No way are we running! We're NINJAS!"

Kanoko glared at her teammate, "Our lives are more important than any battle we face here. That being said…" Her gaze shifted back to the smirking girl, "I'm not sure if running away is even possible."

Naruto scratched his head, "Ok, now I'm confused. Are we running or not?"

"You want to buy time until Shikamaru's team approaches?" Hinata asked softly. Kanoko nodded, "We'll need someone to run to them, warn them of the threat and get them here as quickly as possible."

"Who do you suggest?" Sasuke asked. Kanoko thought carefully, "We can't send Sasuke or Hinata. That girl is clearly interested in them. She would simple follow. And whoever we send needs to be able to track Team 10 down." Kanoko reached into her pouch and grabbed a scroll, "Kiba, take this and give it to Shikamaru. He'll know it's from me." She finished, tossing the scroll to Kiba.

"What why me?! Can't you track them down with your chakra sensing super power or something?" Kiba complained.

"Kiba. Do what she says. We can't afford to waste time." Sasuke told Kiba and paused before deciding, "The success of this mission lies in your hands. Don't fail."

Kiba just stared before smirking, showing his fangs, "You got it! Come on Akamaru!"

"Naruto! Use your shadow clones to create an opening for Kiba to escape!" Kanoko yelled, running pulling out her sword.

"Got it! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, creating 30 clones to attack the three grass nin with.

Kanoko runs behind Naurto, "Wind Style: Vacuum Bomb!" Kanoko spits balls of air like needles towards the group as well.

All three scatter, avoiding the attacks, but giving Kiba enough time to run through. One of the grass nin jumps to Kiba, to stop him, but Sasuke throws two kunai with explosive tags at him – throwing him back.

Kanoko watches as Kiba's outline fades into the distance, " _Phase one: Complete._ "

"Well, well. You lot aren't have bad." The girl said, stepping in front of the group again. Suddenly, a massive amount of negative energy is pushed out along with a mild genjutsu.

"Kai!" Kanoko quickly removes the genjutsu, and is about to go in for an attack when she looks over to the rest of the genin.

There paralyzed with fear.

.

"SAKURA-CHAN?!" Naruto yells, confused at Sakura's fear. Kanoko raises an eyebrow, " _Only Naruto…_ "

Kanoko pulls out a scroll and activates it. Kanoko exhales as she feels the chakra run over her. She jumps in between the girl and her comrades and pushing out a large amount of chakra, "Sasuke! Hinata! Sakura! I understand your fear. This in no child before us, and it's possible that we won't win this fight, but I promise you, I WILL NOT LET YOU DIE HERE!" Kanoko finished with a roar.

The girl laughed, sticking her long tongue out again, "Oh? Are you going to protect them? I must say, you're quite skilled, but I'm afraid that is a promise you won't be able to keep!"

The snake from behind went straight for Kanoko, she jumped out of the way and saw the kunoichi throw explosive kunai at her comrades, "NARUTO! Get them out of there!" Kanoko yelled to him.

Naruto was able to gather enough clones to grab them, while Kanoko fought off the snake. Jumping up she yelled, "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!" Strong water senbon struck the snake's open mouth, making it turn its head away.

Kanoko's feet hit the ground. She poured chakra into her feet, propelling her up with her sword pointed out, as she stabbed the snake in the bottom of its throat.

The snake wailed, slithering back to its master.

Kanoko dashed over to Naruto, "How are they?" Naruto turn to answer Kanoko when Sakura interrupted, "That… Was horrible. It was like I saw my death right before my eyes…" She looked at her hands, lost.

"Sasuke, Hinata, are you with us?" Kanoko turned and asked them.

Sasuke was shifting into a straighter sitting position, "That killing aura… How are we supposed to beat something like that?!"

Kanoko felt like banging her head, " _What happened to that determined mindset from earlier?!_ "

Naruto beat her to anything she was going to say by grabbing Sasuke's collar roughly, "Is that it?! You get scared and you run away?!"

Sasuke yelled back at him, "You don't understand!"

Kanoko shifted her eyes back at the grass nin, keeping a close eye on them while Naruto tried to "reason" with Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head, "We need to give her the scroll!"

Kanoko sighed, rubbing her head aggressively, trying to think of a way to get him to move. She shook her head, giving up, "Naruto! Sakura! We need to face this enemy, follow me!" Kanoko yelled, getting up and running towards the grass nin.

"It's not surprising that he acts this way. The prey is always terrified when the predator is nearby!" She laughed, stretching her body like a snake towards Sasuke.

Sakura threw out several shuriken at the grass nin while jumping in front of Sasuke. Sasuke looked up shocked, "You..?!" Sakura took a protective stance in front of Sasuke, "I won't let you harm Sasuke! You'll have to go through me to get him!"

Around this time, Hinata finally woke up and took a fighting position next to Naruto, in a typical Hyuuga stance.

Kanoko looked around and sweat-dropped, " _Why do I suddenly feel like the odd man out?_ " Kanoko didn't have time to dwell on it when one of the other grass nin flew at her to strike her with a kunai. She was able to evade a hit last second, " _That's what I get for losing focus._ "

Kanoko jumped towards him, making a clone - which ran off in another direction from her. She went in for a front attack, but veered to the left at the last second. As he went to protect his left side, her clone came from the right and stabbed him through the rib cage. He jumped back holding his abdomen.

Kanoko looked back to her comrades and saw Naruto and Hinata fighting the summoned snake and the other male genin.

" _Shit! Where did she go?_ " Kanoko quickly place her hand on the ground, stretching out her senses.

Kanoko kicked off from the ground, barely missing the fireball from behind.

"Wow! A sensor too? You're full of surprises!" She laughed. Kanoko saw her eyes shift to Sakura and Sasuke, "But I don't think you're quick enough to help them!" The grass nin summoned another snake, sending it towards them.

Kanoko was just about to teleport to Sakura's location when she saw a movement from the corner of her eye, " _That chakra signature! It's-_ "

"Leaf Wind Hurricane!"

The snake's head was roughly knocked away from Sakura by Lee's kick.

"Eight Trigrams Empty Palm!" Followed, knocking the snake even further back.

"Summoning: Projectile Weapons!" Various weapons were stabbed into the snake's body, causing it to poof away.

Standing before Sakura was Rock Lee, and off to the side was the Hyuuga and the kunoichi from earlier.

"Lee? What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, confused. Lee spoke to her, not moving his eyes from the enemy, "Your comrade passed us while looking for the other rookie nine. He told me that you were in danger. I promised I would protect you with my life! I will not allow you to be injured because of my weakness!" Lee told her with flames in his eyes.

Kanoko smiled slightly, looking at Lee and his teammates, " _Even if Lee felt he needed to help his "love", they certainly didn't have to help him, but I guess that's why we call it the Will of Fire._ "

Kanoko jumped back to Sakura and Sasuke. She took another look at Sasuke. He looked shocked at the change in events as well.

"Sasuke. You going to join us or are you going to let your girlfriend's stalker protect you?" Kanoko asked plainly.

Sakura went red at the assumption – that she was Sasuke's girlfriend.

Sasuke gave Kanoko a shocked look before laughing – like he had gone crazy, "Why not? Everyone else has gone crazy, why not join in on the madness?"

Kanoko smirked at him, "Spoken like a true Uchiha."

Sasuke just raised an eyebrow before taking an aggressive stance at the grass nin.

The grass nin looked around as her teammates jumped to her side. Naruto and Hinata also joined the rest of their comrades, having killed the snake.

"Eight against three? The odds are still not in your favor…" She started to say, before she froze.

"How about twelve against three? Are the odds in our favor now?" Kanoko followed the shadow that extended behind the grass nin and up a sand hill: Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Kiba.

Kiba smirked with a fang sticking out, "Sorry were late!"

Hinata and Sasuke smiled slightly, seeing their teammate safe. He jumped over to join them.

Shikamaru started shaking, "A little help here sis!" Kanoko ran through some hand signs and extended her shadow out to connect with the three grass nin, in addition to her brother's hold.

"We can only hold them for so long. This is your only opportunity: ATTACK!" Kanoko roared to her fellow leaf nin.

"Gladly." Sasuke said, cracking his knuckles.

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

"Eight Trigrams Empty Palm!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Fang over Fang!"

"Human Bolder!"

"Summoning: Projectile Weapons!"

"Leaf Wind Hurricane!"

Sakura and Ino threw kunai and shuriken with explosive tags.

.

Everyone stood and waited. Shikamaru released his jutsu with a pant and Kanoko jumped back, releasing it as well. When the smoke cleared, they could see two of the ninjas on the ground – dead or knocked out.

Kanoko quickly searched that area for the grass kunoichi chakra, but it was too late, "SASUKE! MOVE!"

.

The kunoichi moved in and grabbed Sasuke, bringing him in closer and biting his neck. She let him go by throwing him across the field. Naruto grabbed him before he hit the ground, watching Sasuke wither in pain.

Kanoko looked back at the grass nin and saw that her face was peeling off, "You're no grass nin are you?"

"Clever girl… No, I'm not" Her voice changing into that of a man's.

"Who are you?!" Shikamaru asked in Kanoko's place.

"Me? No one. Hehe. Though I do go by as Orochimaru." He chuckled out. Kanoko's eyes widened, " _This is Hiruzen's student!_ "

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Naruto roared, his chakra flowing out of control and his eyes sharping to that of a demon's.

Kanoko jumped up, "NARUTO! NO!" She tackled Naruto to the ground, "Naruto! Stop! You're going to get us killed!" He continued to struggle against her and she could feel the chakra burning her.

" _Well, it worked last time…_ " Kanoko thought, activating her Chakra Draining Seal and placing her hand over his back.

"Ack!" Kanoko winced in pain at the burning chakra flooding her body. She gritted her teeth, growling out, "Naruto… If you don't stop… You'll scare Sakura…"

Naruto looked over to Sakura and saw her eyes wide, tears in them, staring at Naruto. Kanoko knew the tears were for Sasuke, but knew Naruto would think she was crying for him.

Thankfully, that got Naruto's attention and he started calming down – eyes turning blue again.

Orochimaru watched Naruto, "Well, I certainly didn't expect that." Kanoko knew he was referring to the Nine-Tails, but was grateful he didn't say it out loud. That wasn't something she wanted to explain to her comrades.

Orochimaru took one step forward before stopping suddenly, "It seems play time's up. It was fun. Maybe you'll have better luck next time." He said, his laughing fading as he ran out of sight.

Kanoko watched as shadows chased after him, still holding onto Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun!" Kanoko heard Ino scream as they watched Sasuke bash around in the sand.

Ino and Sakura were on their knees next to Sasuke, trying to figure a way to help him. All the other genin were standing around him as well, watching. Lee and his team were off to the side, not really sure how they play into this.

Sakura's hand turned green, using the healing jutsu Kanoko taught her when Kanoko grabbed her hand. "I don't think this is an injury you can heal, Sakura." Kanoko said, gesturing Choji to move Ino. After Ino was out of the way, Kanoko moved Sasuke onto his side. She moved his hair, looking at the forming seal.

"Damn…" She muttered. Kanoko flipped his onto his stomach and reached into her pouch and grabbed a scroll. Opening it, she sealed the excess chakra from Naruto into the seal before rolling it up and putting it away.

Kanoko took out another scroll and opened it up. Re-activing the seal on her arm, she thought, " _It's entirely possible I'll kill Sasuke, attempting this, but leaving him like this is going to kill him too._ " She put her hand over the curse mark and starting pulling out the chakra. " _There's definably more than chakra in here. The snake left a piece of his soul… What he was planning to do with this boy, I can only guess…_ " Kanoko removed left hand and went back to the scroll," _but the only one with bad luck is Orochimaru!_ " Kanoko activated the seal, "Sealing Technique: Spirit Sealing!"

Dark purple and red chakra started flowing out of Sasuke's neck and into the scroll in front of Kanoko.

"ARRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sasuke wailed in pain. He was starting to bash around, so Sakura made a motion to hold onto him.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Kanoko barked, "Your soul will get pulled in here too if you do that!"

"You're pulling his soul out?!" Ino screamed at Kanoko, moving to stop her. Shikamaru came behind and grabbed Ino from interfering, "Don't Ino! Kanoko knows what she's doing!" Shikamaru told Ino before thinking, " _Or so I hope…_ "

All the energy finally left Sasuke and was sealed into the scroll.

"Sasuke! SASUKE! WAKE UP!" Ino screamed, still pulling at Shikamaru. Sakura had tears streaming down her face as she watch his chest stop rising.

"Sasuke…" Hinata mumble, tears forming in her eyes too. Kiba was standing next to her with his head down and fists shaking.

Shikamaru was still holding onto Ino, but he had his eyes closed shut and face turned. Choji looked lost – it never occurred to him that any of them could die.

Naruto was screaming, cursing really, and slamming his fists to the ground.

Even Lee's team looked unnerved by the whole incident.

.

Kanoko was the only one with a completely unemotional expression.

After all.

She wasn't done.

Kanoko focus her energy back into the scroll, separating the two souls in the seal, and releasing one. Crimson chakra flowed out of the scroll and into Sasuke's body.

Kanoko panted, tired from the fighting and the sealing effort.

She stared at Sasuke's body.

" _Come on._ "

" _Come on, Sasuke._ "

Kanoko gritted her teeth.

.

.

.

.

.

Eyes sprung open before a bout of coughing was heard coming from Sasuke.

Tears sprang freely from the genins' eyes.

Tears of joy.

"Sasuke!"

Hearing his name, he focused his eyes and looked around him.

Gathered over him was all of his classmates, smothering him with smiles and their tears still flowing freely.

He sat up slowly with the help of Sakura and Ino before coughing out, "What happened?"

Naruto chuckled, answering for Kanoko, "Oh you know, just the usual!"

Sasuke gave Naruto an annoying for not answering his question. He looked around for an answer from someone else, when everyone just started chuckling – infected by Naruto's laughter.

And soon they were all laughing.

.

Even Sasuke.

.

.

.

Expect for Kanoko – she has a no laughing policy.

.

She smirked lightly though.

.

* * *

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 **Authors Note: I 've rewritten chapter 19 three times now and am going in for a fourth time, so please bare with me while I try to get it perfect - or at least readable.**

 **Thank you all for the reviews! As always, I appericate the input! It gets new ideas running through my brain - making it easier to write. And the easier it is to write, the quicker I can get chapters out! :)**

 **And the compliments make me very happy too! XD**


	20. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: The reviews of chapter 19 (what I call chapter 18) are not showing up. I contacted support and read the forums and am concerned they may never appear. So instead, I decided to post them at the beginning of the story - since I do receive them via email.**

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 **They are posted at the bottom of the story, after the "Special Episode".**

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After the laughter died down, Lee and his two teammates, who they learned were Hyuuga Neji and Tenten, took off to find their own scroll.

At the mention of scrolls, Kanoko pulled out the Heaven Scroll and tossed it to Shikamaru. He looked at, then reached into his own bag and tossed Kanoko an Earth Scroll.

Kanoko almost laughed at the coincidence.

"Sakura, where did you learn to do that?" Kanoko heard Ino ask Sakura, as she was healing a few of Sasuke's wounds with the Mystical Palm Technique.

Sakura moved her shoulder to gesture at Kanoko, since her hands were preoccupied. Kanoko just shrugged at Ino's stare. Ino then turned to Shikamaru and glared at him.

Shikamaru's eye twitched, "What, troublesome woman?"

Ino's eyes narrowed further, "You're holding out on Choji and I! Your sister can use wind, water, and yin jutsus, advance sealing techniques, and can also heal?! There has to be more you can do than the Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

Kanoko opened her mouth to say that she never actually took the time and effort to learn healing jutsus; she just knew the basic principle and shared it with Sakura. From there, Sakura just ran with it. Sakura really learned it all by herself with minimal assistance from Kanoko, but Kanoko didn't get the chance to say anything before her brother spoke.

Shikamaru scoffed and crossed his arms, "Maybe my sister's just amazing. We can't all be prodigies."

Ino's glare turned into a giggle, "Oh I see."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "What do you mean by that…?" Kanoko looked over, curious as well.

Ino just covered her mouth with her hand and giggled again, "You're sister's something special, isn't she?"

"Of course she is." Shikamaru said firmly – no room for question.

Kanoko turned away, knowing where this is going. Instead, she placed her hand on the ground, searching the area for chakra signatures.

Northwest.

Kanoko turned to Hinata, "Hinata, I believe there is a team northwest. Can you confirm?" Kanoko didn't really need her to confirm, she just wanted the others to listen and shift gears to the more pressing concerns: Like getting out of here.

Hinata answered, "Hai." She activated her Byakugan and affirmed the presence of a team.

With that Sasuke got up, "Then let's head out."

They all filed out after that.

Not before a, "Who put you in charge, Teme?!" from Naruto.

.

.

.

.

.

Standing where the rookie nine were previously stopped was a ninja of the Leaf Village. Taller than most genin at the exams, he had light gray/silver hair in a short ponytail.

He adjusted his glasses before speaking lowly, "Orochimaru is not going to be pleased…"

00000000000000000000000000000000

Kanoko opened her eyes slowly before letting out a low yawn. She rolled out of bed and walked towards the window in her room. She placed her hand at the top of the windowsill, leaning against it. She took a look outside, watching the villagers walk down the streets.

She stretched her arms before starting to get dressed. While she was getting ready for the day, she thought about the second phase of the exams.

After gathering the last scroll, the rookie nine made their way to the tower – not before running into a few of Suna's famous beasts. They made it there, though, just in time.

Now they were waiting around for the final stage.

Kanoko stared at herself in the mirror, thinking back…

 _Flashback_

 _Kanoko walked into her room. She knew Sakura and Naruto would be out partying with the rest of the genin in celebration for a while, so she used the opportunity to sneak away._

" _Flying Thunder god Jutsu."_

 _Kanoko teleported to the Nara forest, and from there, made her way to the Hokage's office henged as Konohamaru. Once she got close, she pushed out her senses – looking into the Hokage's office: The Hokage and Two ANBU._

 _Oh well, this was important._

 _She teleported into the Hokage's office, surprising him. She saw the ANBU make a move when the Hokage stopped them, "Leave us."_

 _The ANBU paused before teleporting away._

 _The Hokage looked back at "his grandson" before saying, "That was a risky move. I hope whatever you are bringing me is important."_

 _Kanoko nodded, "Orochimaru was in the second round."_

 _The Hokage nodded, "I am aware. It was Kakashi that found the… mess… Orochimaru left, and notified the Sand Village officials."_

 _Kanoko continued, "There's more. He placed a curse seal on Uchiha Sasuke's body. I've never quite seen a seal like it. Orochimaru's own soul was sealed inside – as if he planned on taking over the Uchiha's body."_

 _The Hokage exhaled deeply, "From what you are describing, I am familiar with this seal. He placed a few on his students while still a leaf nin. Many died, but one still lives: Mitarashi Anko – although she is no threat, we were never able to remove the seal. If Sasuke falls victim to it-"_

" _I removed it." Kanoko said plainly._

 _The Hokage looked back, shocked, "Y-you removed it?" He sat down before shrugging, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Orochimaru based nearly all his jutsus and seals from the work you left behind for Leaf ninja to study."_

 _Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "That's why I couldn't find my scrolls when I first started searching the common archives."_

 _Hiruzen sighed, "After what Orochimaru did, using your work, we placed them in the vault – dubbing them forbidden."_

 _Kanoko considered if she should feel ashamed that her work caused such pain, but she also was taught that it is not the kunai that kills, but the one holding it._

 _The Third Hokage got up and looked outside with his arms behind him, "At least now we understand Orochimaru's intention and have prevented it."_

 _Kanoko considered what her former student said, before asking, "What is more important to him: His search for immortality or his hatred towards Konoha?"_

 _The Hokage didn't hesitate, "His hatred for me. That is what is forefront in his mind. To him, I have denied him too much. He may thirst for power and immortality, but his hatred for me is first and foremost."_

 _Kanoko nodded, "Then that is his true intention. Focus on that."_

 _Before teleporting away, Kanoko added, "Do not put me in a position of out-living my student. That is a pain no sensei ever wants to experience."_

 _End Flashback_

Even after that discussion, Kanoko still felt as that was the last time she would speak with her former student.

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"Please! Please! PLEASE! PLLLLLEASE!"

Naruto had been begging Kakashi-sensei for the last hour to teach him new and powerful jutsu. The fight in the desert had been hard on all of them, and Naruto wanted to become stronger. The problem was, Naruto always equated strength with jutsus – particularly powerful ones with cool names.

In an effort to keep her sanity, Kanoko offered to teach Naruto a jutsu or two. He almost took her offer too, but then _**Sasuke**_ showed up out of nowhere asking for Kakashi-sensei. After further questioning, they learned that Sasuke's sensei, Kurenai, told him to ask _**their**_ sensei to teach him a lightening jutsu – since he had an affinity for it.

Now, Naruto _**only**_ wanted to be taught by Kakashi-sensei.

" _Thank you Sasuke-teme, I should have let you_ _ **DIE**_ _._ " Kanoko thought, her headache growing.

"PLEASE KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto pleaded in a high pitch this time.

Kanoko stood up and ripped Kakashi's book from his hand, "FOR ALL THAT IS HOLY IN THIS WORLD! EITHER TEACH HIM SOMETHING, FIND SOMEONE WHO HE'LL LEARN FROM, OR PUT HIM OUT OF HIS MISERY!"

.

"U-u-hh-hh… Kanoko… You… book…" Naruto said with uncontrolled fear in his voice. Even Sakura was making a run for the exit.

Kanoko looked at her hand.

Icha Icha Paradise.

.

.

.

She blamed Naruto. He's the one who drove her insane.

.

A dark aura took over the room.

.

Thankfully Kanoko used the Body Replacement Jutsu with Naruto and high-tailed it out of there while Kakashi beat up "Kanoko".

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Ahhhh…" Sakura said, sinking down lower in the hot water.

"I agree, this is the best!" Ino nodded, laying back against the edge of the hot spring. She jerked her head up, "Come on Hinata! Get in here!"

Hinata held her towel tightly around her, "Coming…"

"You know, it's nice to officially meet you guys. Even if we have to face each other in the final round, we're still leaf ninjas, and it's nice to hang out with fellow kunoichi!" Tenten said from the entrance as she got in the water.

Sakura nodded, "I can't even imagine what it must be like to be on a team with three guys, Kakashi-sensei and Naruto are bad enough…" Sakura sighed in relief, "I don't know I would do if Kanoko wasn't on my team."

Ino tilted her head, "Where is she anyways? How long does it take to get undressed?"

Hinata, now submerged replied, "She started talking to cloud ninja… I think she said her name was Karui…"

Sakura sighed, "Of course. Four years in the academy and Kanoko doesn't make one friend, and then she goes to a completely foreign village and starts chatting up the competition."

Ino wagged her finger at Sakura, "Maybe that's why she's talking to her. You know, Shikamaru did the same thing with this team from the rain. Maybe it's a Nara thing?"

Tenten looked impressed before looking up and speaking her thoughts, "You know, Kanoko's not really like most kunoichi. I mean, when you guys were fighting those grass nin, Neji was watching with his Byakugan as we approached. He said that she used both a wind and water technique. And then, later we saw her save that one boy, Sasuke, with fuinjutsu. I've never seen fuinjutsu used like that before. Most of us just store things in our scrolls…"

Sakura put a finger on her chin, "Now that I think about it, in our first C-rank turned B mission, Kanoko used…" Sakura started counting her fingers, "Three water jutsus? She also invented her own seal on her arm…"

"Sakura." Kanoko called to Sakura in a stern voice. She turned her head up. Kanoko continued, "You can brag about me **after** we complete the chunin exams."

Sakura turned red as Ino chuckled, point her tongue at her.

Tenten apologize, "That was my fault! I promise, I wasn't trying to spy! You're just interesting! You're different than most ninja around here."

Kanoko wasn't listening, her head was turned, with her eyes narrowed at the fence.

"Kanoko…?" Sakura asked, concerned.

Kanoko calmly walked over to the fence before kicking it roughly down.

"KANOKO!" The girls yelled, diving into the water.

On the other side was a long, white haired old man with a headband with the kanji word for "oil" on it. The fence had hit him in the face, causing him to fall onto his back and his nose to bleed. Kanoko also saw Naruto off to the side, staring bewildered.

Kanoko turned to Naruto, still fully clothed and sword in hand, and gave him a dark look, "I'll deal with you later…" she finished with a low tone before walking up to the old man.

Kanoko looked down at him, but before she could beat him up, he jumped up and put a hand out in defense, "H-H-Hold on there! You see, I'm a novelist, and I was doing research on my next book!" He stuttered out.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, "You. Are peeping on **twelve-year old** girls. For research. For a book." She finished.

He scratched the back of his head, "Well, when you say it like that…"

Kanoko drew her sword and pointed at his face, inches from his nose, she darkly said, "This is your only warning: There is no jutsu, seal, technique, or ability that will mask your presence from me. If I find you here again, I will remove your eyeballs. **One. At. A. Time.** "

He went white before nodding vigorously, grabbing Naruto and making a run for it.

Kanoko watched them leave, " _Please don't tell me that's Naruto's new teacher._ "

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Black smoke cleared, revealing a rather large hole in the rock.

"Not bad…" Kakashi said, jumping over to his "student", "But, it would work better if you focused." Kakashi finished wistfully.

Sasuke huffed at Kakashi's words.

"Now, now. No need to go all emo on me. I'm just saying you have something on your mind… Something distracting you from training."

Sasuke looked away, staring at his hand in irritation. He knew he was close to completing the jutsu, but Kakashi-sensei's "words of wisdom" were driving his last bit of patience into the ground – not that he had much to begin with.

His own sensei was blunter than Kakashi – actually providing him with insight, rather than him having to decipher the meaning. Not that Kakashi's last statement wasn't plenty blunt. Sasuke knew that his mind was wondering.

Staring at his hand again, he thought back to the Demon Desert.

He was so weak.

He needed both Sakura and Naruto to protect him.

And Kanoko…

…How could she be so much more advance then him? He remembered sharing the number one spot with her in the academy. They were even in ninjutsu and genjutsu, and he even had an advantage over her in taijutsu.

Now…

It was like she was a different person. Having skill in not one, but two basic natures? Add in her clan's shadow jutsu and her clear skill with seals…

Sasuke's fists tightened, this time drawing blood.

It was no wonder that the dead-last, Naruto, was becoming something more than a loser – with a ninja like Kanoko on his team. Of course, he didn't know that Kanoko hadn't worked with Naruto much on his skills – Naruto learned best doing his own thing.

Sasuke stared at his bloody hands. When did the gap get so big? Was he not progressing as fast as he thought he was?

He looked up at the mark he created, from his lightening jutsu.

He needed to get stronger.

He couldn't afford to be this weak.

.

Not with **him** still alive.

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"So? What does it say?!" Naruto asked, leaning against Kanoko, trying to get a look at the paper sent to them by the Chunin Exam board.

Even Sakura was trying to stick her head over Kanoko's shoulder to look.

Couldn't she have been given as least one team member that respected the personal bubble concept?

Kanoko shoved both of them off her before saying, "It's going to be a team matchup: Three on three." Her eyes ran over the next few lines, "All three must participate in each fight to continue – the knockout of one of your teammates won't disqualify you, but if they aren't able to fight by your next match, you will be disqualified."

She paused, "The following teams have made it to the final round: Team Kakashi of the Leaf, Team Kurenai of the Leaf, Team Asuma of the Leaf, Team Gai of the Leaf, Team Bee of the Cloud, Team Baki of the Sand, Team Shigure of the Rain, and Team Dosu of the Sound."

With that, Kanoko turned to the next page: The matches.

 **First Round:**

1\. Team Gai v Team Kakashi

2\. Team Asuma v Team Bee

3\. Team Shigure v Team Baki

4\. Team Dosu v Team Kurenai

 **Semi-Final Round:**

5\. Winner of Match 1 v Winner of Match 2

6\. Winner of Match 3 v Winner of Match 4

 **Final Round:**

Winner of Match 5 v Winner of Match 6

.

After Kanoko finished reading the match line up, she looked over to her teammates.

Naruto was clenching his fists tightly with an angry expression. He stared down at the floor as Kanoko thought, " _That's right. This is the team that the Hyuuga is on._ "

Kanoko thought back to the incident…

 _Flashback_

 _Kanoko was out walking around with her team, down the streets of Suna. Naruto was hunched over, looking half dead and even Sakura was holding her stomach._

 _They had just finished a particularly painful and long training exercise with their sensei, who – guess what – showed up on time. That should have been the first clue…_

 _From 4am to 3pm they ran drill after drill. Pushups, laps, kunai throwing, running with clones of Kakashi-sensei on their backs – everything you can think of. Kanoko wasn't entirely sure what sparked such drive in their sensei all of a sudden, but she wasn't really complaining. All this training was going to increase her and Sakura's reserves. And Kakashi had Naruto focusing on basic ninja skills – throwing, dodging, hitting – the areas he is still the weakest in._

 _Kakashi, however, was feeling particularly drill sergeant like and didn't feed them._

 _So here they were, looking for a place to eat._

 _Kanoko wasn't too upset about the whole "not being able to eat while training thing", but that might have to do with the fact that she pic-pocketed his wallet before heading out to find a restaurant._

 _Lunch would be on Kakashi-sensei today._

 _Just as they were about to round a corner, they heard, "A word of advice. Withdraw now."_

 _Team 7 turned the corner and saw Team Gai and Team Kurenai facing each other. Neji was standing ahead of his two teammates with his arms crossed and a firm frown on his face. Opposite from him was a shaking – with anger it seemed – Kiba, a glaring and arms crossed Sasuke, and Hinata in the middle, shifting her eyes to the ground in sadness._

 _Neji continued, "You know you were never meant to be a ninja." Hinata looked up, shocked at his statement. Kiba growled, "What did you say?! How dare you!"_

 _Hinata looked over to her teammate, "Kiba. Please. Don't…"_

 _Neji wasn't done though, "You're too kind and gentle. You avoid conflict… And you allow yourself to be easily swayed by others. Admit it. You have no confidence and you feel inferior to everyone else here. You would have stayed a genin forever, but to register for the chunin exams, three member squads are required. You never even wanted to be here, but Sasuke and Kiba did. And you couldn't_ _ **bear**_ _to let your teammates down."_

 _Sasuke and Kiba looked worried and a little guilty as they looked over to their teammate._

 _Hinata sensed their guilt and quickly stuttered out, "N-no! I… I want to be here! I know… That I'm not the strongest, but I thought… If I tried… I could change… That I could be stronger."_

 _Everyone was silent for a moment, thinking about Hinata's words._

 _Neji scoffed, interrupting the silence, "Hinata. You are the spoiled offspring of the Hyuuga's main branch. People can't change no matter how hard they try!" Kanoko looked over to Naruto, knowing these words could affect him._

 _He was gritting his teeth._

 _Neji ruthlessly continued, "They can't run away from their true nature!_ _ **A failure will always be a failure.**_ _"_

 _Naruto started growling lowly now. Even Sakura was looking at Naruto concerned – she knew as well how much the conversation hit home for him._

" _Despite your brave words, what you're really thinking is that you would like to run – run as far away from here as you can!"_

 _Hinata quickly yelled back, "No! You're wrong! I would never run away and abandon my team!"_

 _Neji scoffed again, looking away disgusted, "There you go again – bending to another's will. Just admit you fear, your panic. You can't do this. You can't even face me – your own cousin – without getting frozen in fear. You will always be, what you were always meant to be: A mistake – a failure!"_

" _THAT DOES IT!" Naruto yelled, stepping up to Hinata's side. "Who gave you the right to tell her what she can and can't be! Go on Hinata! Show him he's wrong!"_

 _Hinata stared at Naruto, in complete shock._

 _Growling louder, "Hinata! Are you just going to stand there and take that?! Do something!"_

 _Kanoko's eye went a little wide. She was certain he would just sock Neji and get into a fight, but to tell Hinata to defend herself? Kanoko chuckled and thought, "_ Maybe Naruto is wiser than I give him credit for. _"_

 _Naruto stared a little longer at Hinata before she slowly turned to Neji. She focused her eyes on him and firmly spoke, "I won't run away… I won't back down… I won't hide anymore! Byakugan!" Hinata finished taking a fighting position._

 _Kanoko sweat-dropped, "Only Naruto could take the most docile of people and encourage them to fight in the streets of a foreign village."_

 _Kiba and Sasuke made no moves to stop Hinata. In fact, they were smirking and looked ready to get in on the action._

 _Neji gritted his teeth at Hinata, "I'm not going to waste my energy on you. If we face off in the final round, so be it. But right now,_ _ **you're not worth my time**_ _."_

 _And with that, Team Gai turned and left._

" _That…! Bastard!" Naruto roared out._

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Now Naruto was determined to face Neji in battle – and beat him of course.

Kanoko thought about Team Gai.

Hyuuga Neji: Prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan – A problem.

Tenten: Skill in weapons and storage seals – Difficult, but so long as her defense was poor, Kanoko wasn't too worried.

Rock Lee: Mini Maito Gai – Big problem.

She recalled the incident in at Konoha's gates. That boy said Lee had no skill in ninjutsu. There was the possibility that that was no longer true – as people change and improve. It was evident, though, that Lee had skill in taijutsu. From what she knew about Maito Gai, it didn't surprise her.

Now that she thought about Maito Gai, she realized that he was highly competitive to one Hatake Kakashi – her sensei.

That posed an even larger problem.

His team will have additional initiative to defeat them (being his sensei's rival's team) and Team Gai is likely being trained harder for this purpose.

Kanoko placed the paper down on the table before grabbing Sakura by the arm and dragging her out of the room. She faintly heard the a yell of confusion from Naruto as Kanoko dragged Sakura out of the building.

"K-Kanoko! Where are you taking me?!" Sakura yelped.

Kanoko didn't look back, just responded plainly, "Somewhere to train."

Sakura just stared at the back of Kanoko's head, confused.

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The Sand Village had set up sectioned off areas for the genin could train in private for the upcoming matches.

And one of those spots was exactly where Sakura found herself, sitting cross-legged staring at Kanoko as she rummaged through her bag. Finally, Kanoko turned around and pulled out two pieces of paper. Sakura leaned in to take a better look: They were small and square, with no writing on it.

"What are these?" She asked.

Kanoko gave one to Sakura and held the other one in front of Sakura, "These are called Chakra Papers. When you push some of your chakra into them, they tell you which chakra nature you have an affinity for and as such, the strongest potential to master." Kanoko paused before continuing, "For fire, the paper will ignite and turn to ash. For wind, the paper will split in two. For lightning, the paper will wrinkle. For earth, the paper will turn to dirt and crumble away. And for water, the paper will become wet/damp."

To demonstrate, Kanoko pushed some chakra into the paper she was holding and it dampened.

Sakura looked at it surprised before looking down at her own paper.

Kanoko calmly continued, "Once we know what nature you have an affinity for, I will teach you a jutsu with that nature."

"I thought you said learning nature jutsus wasn't the best route for me, since my reserves are low and they require a lot – even with my chakra control." Sakura questioned.

Kanoko nodded, "I did say that, however, we still haven't figured out an alternative assault tactic for you besides explosive kunai, paper bombs, and traps. All of those are good, but in a three on three match with no ability to prepare the field, you'll be at a disadvantage."

Kanoko placed her hand on her chin and looked down at the papers before continuing, "Our best shot at improving your defense is through nature jutsus. Naruto and I can handle the main assault from there."

Sakura nodded, feeling bad that there wasn't more she could do.

Kanoko just shook her head, "Don't be discouraged. We're going to find the right technique for you, and when we do, you're going to be a force to be reckoned with." Kanoko finished with a small smirk.

Sakura nodded, a little happier.

"Now let's see what nature you are."

Sakura looked down at the paper and filled it with chakra.

Both Kanoko and Sakura stared at the results.

Kanoko rubbed her chin, "Well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Then she smirked and looked at Sakura, "I got the perfect jutsu for you."

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Sakura and Kanoko were walking down the streets of Suna again, looking for a place to get dinner. It was fairly dark out now and the lanterns on the street were glowing dimly.

Sakura place a hand over her opposite shoulder, moving her arm around to loosen the muscles, "Man! I'm beat! You really know how to run someone into the ground, Kanoko."

Kanoko just shrugged, hands in her pockets, looking ahead. Her attention was caught when she saw a familiar patch of spikey blonde hair. Towering over her teammate was the white-haired pervert from the hot springs. Kanoko's stare caught the old man's attention, causing him to look her way.

In turn, Naruto looked over as well before grinning, "Sakura-chan! Kanoko!" Naruto proceeded to run up to them, "You gotta see this new technique pervy sage taught me!" Naruto closed his eyes, giggling at his achievement.

The man sighed loudly and walked over, "Stop calling me that kid! The name's Jiraiya!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Jiraiya? As in student of the Third Hokage?"

Jiraiya looked over a little shocked at actually being recognized in a positive light, "Yep! The very one! Though I'm better known for my genius writing skills and my knowledge of the inner workings of the female mind. Hehehe." He finished, with a hand on his chin and a perverted smile.

Sakura deadpanned, "You're the pervert from the hot springs! The one that Kanoko threatened."

Naruto started laughing, "Hahaha! That's right! She scared you shitless pervy sage!"

Jiraiya's eye started twitching, "How do you know these rude little girls anyways, kid? One of them your girlfriend? Hmmm?"

Naruto blushed and looked at Sakura from the corner of his eye, "Oh… you can tell she's really crazy about me, huh?" Naruto replied. Kanoko's eyebrow flew up, " _He better be referring to Sakura._ "

"NARUTO!" Sakura growled, "If I had the energy to punch you, you would be in a world of hurt!" She finished raising a fist to his face.

Naruto paled before laughing nervously, "Sorry Sakura-chan…"

"We are Naruto's teammates." Kanoko told Jiraiya. Jiraiya looked at Naruto, then Sakura, then Kanoko, "Two kunoichi on one team? Wow, you are one lucky kid Naruto!" Jiraiya finished with a thumbs up to his student.

Sakura's stomach growled. While holding it miserably she said, "Can we just find a place to eat then go home?"

Naruto jumped up in excitement, "Yes! Food! Let's go find us some RAMEN!"

Kanoko smiled slightly, "I don't know if they have ramen here Naruto. I haven't seen any yet."

Naruto just crossed his arms and stuck his bottom lip out, "Then were just going to have to find something!"

"You kids go on ahead… I have some… research to do." Jiraiya said, drooling at the busty women passing the group.

"OH NO YOU DON'T! This one's on you!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Jiraiya by ponytail.

Yanking it from Naruto, he yelled, "Listen here you brat-" Everyone suddenly heard a loud rumble of a stomach. Kanoko looked to Sakura. Sakura shrugged, "It wasn't me this time."

Jiraiya blushed lightly before scratching his nose, "Well… I might join you kids. Just this once."

And with that, they made their way to the nearest restaurant.

 _20 Minutes Later_

"UGGG! Why is everything full?!" Naruto yelled at the night sky.

The final round was getting closer and today was the first day a large wave of people came in to stay for the event. As such, many of the restaurants they went into were full. The rest, Jiraiya pulled them right out before he could be seen.

Apparently he had scorned a lot of women.

Sakura was dragging her feet at this point, looking ready to pass out, "Let's just find a place and eat… I don't care what it is!"

In the hopes of making Sakura happy, Naruto pointed at a place up ahead, "What about that place?"

Kanoko looked up, it was a standard restaurant that catered more to patrons looking for a good drink than food, but it looked fairly empty. Shrugging, Kanoko walked ahead, with the group following. After walking in, they were seated at a small table.

Folding her knees under her, Kanoko sat down and looked at the menu.

"Oo! That looks good." Naruto exclaimed pointing to the menu, "What are you going to get Sakura-chan?!"

Shoving him away, Sakura growled, "I don't know! Now let me decide in peace!"

Kanoko chuckled very lowly at her teammate's antics. Seated next to her was Jiraiya, who heard her, "I take it, that this is normal."

Kanoko nodded, picking up her tea for a sip.

Jiraiya leaned back on one of his hands, "You three remind me of my team, back in the day."

Naruto's head jerked over to Jiraiya, "Really?! Who were your teammates?" Even Sakura looked up from the menu, curious. She knew, from the stories, that Jiraiya was a powerful ninja, but not much more than that.

Chuckling, he answered, "Well, that's a story for another time."

Naruto gave up, not really caring and turning back to the menu, drooling.

Kanoko sat her tea down before asking Jiraiya, "Are you staying for the final matches?"

Jiraiya smiled sadly before speaking low, "Nah. I'm a busy man – got things to do and all that."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow at his quietness, "You don't want Naruto to know."

Jiraiya chuckled nervously, "You know the kid," He looked over to see Naruto ordering a list of foods from the waiter, "He would just whine and make a scene."

Kanoko shrugged before ordering her food as well.

After the meal had finished, they all walked out of the restaurant. Naruto and Sakura politely told Jiraiya goodnight, as the place Team 7 was staying at was in the opposite direction of Jiraiya's. Waving back at them, Jiraiya turned around and started to walk away as well.

"You should stay."

Jiraiya turned around to see the serious face of one Nara Kanoko. In response, he raised an eyebrow dramatically in confusion.

Kanoko just shrugged and walked away, towards her team.

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The room was barely lit and had an ominous feeling to it. In the middle of the room, was a large round table. Older men and one older woman filed into the room – taking seats around the table. There was a little bit of noise from the people in the room greeting one and another, some even going so far to ask the purpose of such a late meeting.

After everyone had sat down, an imposing robed man came in – immediately gathering everyone's attention.

A chorus of head nods and "Kazekage-sama" was heard lowly.

After sitting down, the Kazekage started, "Thank you for meeting this late." He paused, picking up a paper of the final round matches. "As you know, in the final round of the chunin exams, the Sand Village has only one team, while the Leaf Village has four."

One of the councilmen spoke lowly, but clearly, "It is understandable. This was the leaf's turn, so they had many ninja to provide for the exam. Statically, the odds were in their favor."

Another man joined, "I agree, but only on a statistical level. The Leaf didn't need to send so many genin and overwhelm the system." The councilman then to him nodded in agreement.

The Kazekage smiled internally, "In addition, I have received reports stating that some of the Leaf genin formed an alliance – guaranteeing their success through numbers."

"How dare they?!" One man shouted.

The only woman in the room scoffed and him, "We're ninjas, not samurai! They were well within their rights."

"I agree with Chiyo. The Leaf genin didn't violate any rules."

One of the men spoke with a thoughtful tone, "Even if we are upset by the circumstances, there isn't anything we can do about it."

The Kazekage spoke again, "We retaliate."

The room got silent, "What are you proposing, Kazekage?"

"The reason we even entered into this agreement with the Leaf Village was to present a strong force to our Daimyo. What better way, then making the Leaf look weak?" The Kazekage finished with a strong voice.

The members at the table looked at one and another, "We already have our best genin in the final round: Gaara. We know that he won't be beaten – especially by any Leaf genin. How else would we make the Leaf look inferior to Suna?"

The Kazekage chuckled lowly, "I've taken the time to research the leaf participates. Many of them are clan heirs. In Suna, on the day of the final round, will be clan heads and their body guards. If we were to remove these prominent members in the Leaf Village and their heirs, the Village Hidden in the Leaves would be severely weakened."

"You're talking about war with the Leaf!" One of the men said, slamming his hands on the table. After that, the whole room erupted with arguments: some pro war with the Leaf, some con.

"What about the agreement we made with the Leaf? Are we planning on going back on our word?"

"The Leaf went back on their word when they set out to make us look like fools!"

"What about the risk to the village and our guests? Not to mention the Daimyo!"

"We could warn the Daimyo ahead of time, keep him safe."

"Then what's the point of starting another war, if not to show the Daimyo our strength?!"

"And what if this backfires? Then both the Leaf and Cloud will see our weakness, not to mention our own citizens!"

"We need the money from our Daimyo! Our people are starving!"

"The Leaf Village has extended an olive branch with these Chunin Exams! They could have just continued to strangle us economically!"

"I agree! If anything, they were the ones taking the risk, allowing us to hold the Chunin Exams! That most certainly projected weakness to the other nations!"

"They did it to show that the Sand is on their side, should the other nations attack. It was not a selfless act."

"And what if the other nations decide to attack us?! We may be able to hold our own against the Leaf, but not against the Cloud!"

Orochimaru, henged as the Kazekage, gritted his teeth. This was **not** going as he planned. First, his seal was _**removed**_ by some _**child**_. And now, his plan to kill the Hokage and permanently damage the Leaf by using the Sand Village's desperation is backfiring as well.

Orochimaru contemplated using his own village's resources and ninja to invade the Sand and enact his plan, but this was Suna, not Konoha. He wasn't as familiar with its defenses – natural and manmade. And then there's the fact that he would be battling the Sand and the Leaf (as if his luck continued down this path – the Cloud too).

He did have the advantage of being "Kazekage" but he couldn't start a war without the council's approval.

His fists tightened harder, drawing blood.

No.

NO.

He would see his former sensei burn!

One way or another.

.

This whole village would burn, if that's what it took.

.

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 **00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Special Episode:**

"I don't like it here."

Kanoko looked over to her brother. Both of them were on top of one of Suna's tallest buildings. Kanoko was sitting cross-legged, working on several sealing scrolls while her brother was flat on his back next to her.

"Is it the heat?" Kanoko asked, not really caring, just deciding to reply.

She watched as his eyebrows wrinkled slightly, "Not really." He didn't further explain, so Kanoko turned her attention be to her scrolls.

She was trying to figure out a way to combine the two scrolls she had of the Nine-Tails' chakra from Naruto. She could always absorb both, and then seal it back into one scroll, but that would be both painful and noticeable.

One thing Sakura she noticed both times she absorb the chakra from Naruto was the red/orange tint that appeared around her. It was possible that this colored aura was only noticeable to sensor ninja, but that was already more attention than she was willing to risk.

And it hurt. Mostly that.

"It's because there's no clouds."

Kanoko looked over to her brother, confused. It took her a moment to remember the first thing he had said: That he didn't like it here.

Kanoko nodded, "Well, they rarely see rain, so it would be expected – the lack of clouds that is."

Shikamaru was silent again, before tentatively asking, "Do you like it here?"

Kanoko looked at her scrolls, wondering if she should just give up on them for now and appease her brother with a "brother, sister" moment he seemed to be requiring.

Sighing internally, she rolled them up while answering, "The lack of water makes using jutsus difficult." Kanoko praised herself internally for finding a logical answer to his emotional question.

In the corner of her eye, she saw his eyebrows frown again.

"So… You would like it in the Village Hidden in the Mist?" Shikamaru asked thoughtfully.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, wondering what he is getting at, "The Village Hidden in the Mist is highly volatile right now. Even more so for foreign ninja."

"Well, what about the Rain Village?"

"The same, but worse."

There was another moment of silence, and Kanoko thought that perhaps the conversation had ended, so she reached in to grab the scroll she was working on.

"How about-"

"What do you really want to know, Shikamaru?" Kanoko asked a little roughly, leaning over her brother and getting close to his face.

Shikamaru's cheeks went a little pink before he turned his head away from her, "Do you like it in the Leaf Village?"

Kanoko looked Shikamaru a little bewildered, "Of course. I couldn't think of another place I would prefer to be." Kanoko finish without hesitation.

"Oh." Shikamaru said, turning onto his side, his back to his sister.

Kanoko gave him an annoyed look before poking his back with her foot, "Oi. What does that mean?"

She saw Shikamaru shrugged. Sighing lightly she asked, "Do you like it in Konoha?"

"Of course I do." Shikamaru said, a little roughly – like Kanoko was insane for even questioning it.

"Then why are we having this conversation?" Kanoko plainly asked.

The was another moment of silence, so Kanoko extended her legs out and leaned back on her hands to get comfortable. She then looked up at the sky, thinking, "A cloudless sky… It is a little depressing, but I never understood his fascination with the clouds anyways, so it's not it matters to me."

Kanoko looked down when she felt a weight on her lap.

Her brother had used her distracted and relaxed state to quickly acquire her lap as a pillow – snuggling in for the most comfortable position.

She gave him an annoyed look before saying, "I'm going to be mad if you started that whole pointless conversation just to get a prime spot on my lap for that overly large head of yours."

She saw him yawn before closing his eyes – neither confirming nor denying anything.

"Brat." Kanoko thought before laying back, to take a nap of her own.

.

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* * *

 **Reviews from Chapter 19 (what I call Chapter 18):**

 **.**

 **From: Vault166**

 **My mind keeps getting pulled to the Edo tensi scene in the invasion. But instead of it failing or whatever because shes been reincarnated, her conciseness is sucked into the edo tensi.**

 **I can't help but picturing Tobirama yelling about it was nice to be a guy again.**

 **Sorry about the rant-very good chapter though, Can't wait for the next update!**

 **.**

 **From: KassieJean**

 **I love this so much and am excited for more. I especially loved what you did for sasuke.**

 **.**

 **From: Guest**

 **:This is an awesome story XD**

 **.**

 **From: Madara's Queen**

 **nice and cool story bro :D**

 **.**

 **From: moonlightkiss1515**

 **Take that you lovin' snaky with Kazekage birthing suit slash wannabe transgender! oh yeah! ruin that plan huh?! Tobi-kun is really stepping on his plans!**

 **.**

 **From: bonitalito**

 **I'm so glad I found this story! It's well written, thought out and stays fairly close to the characters personality.**

 **.**

 **From: NightlyRowenTree**

 **Awesomeness:3 thanks for the update**


	21. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: The reviews are still not showing up for everyone to see, so I will continue to post them at the bottom until FanFiction fixes the bug.**

 **THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS. They make me very happy! *tear***

* * *

The final rounds were to be held in a large-dome like arena. The walls went high up into the air, curving around and leaving only a small hole leading to the sky. The whole area felt warm, especially with the spotlights focusing on the stage.

People from all around the nations were making their way to their seats. Multiple booths were set up outside for food and other items. It was a little amusing to see t-shirts with "Go Team Baki" or "Go Team Gai".

The event wouldn't start for another hour, so Team 7 had split off into different directions. Her brother was currently travelling behind her – the both of them looking for their parents.

"Man… This is such a drag…" Shikamaru moaned behind her, fighting through the crowd.

Kanoko growled slightly, "Are you a parrot or something? Can't you say anything else?"

"A parrot only repeats what it's told." Shikamaru responded like the smartass he is.

Kanoko gave him an annoyed look, before focusing back on the crowd ahead and on a familiar spiky ponytail. Walking down the stairs of the stands, she walked up to her father.

"Well, look who just found us Yoshino…" Shikaku said lazily. Their mother leaned over their father to get a closer look, "Oh! Just look at you two! Couldn't you have found something better to wear! Everyone here is going to think I can't dress you two properly."

Kanoko and Shikamaru both looked down at their clothes, confused. They were wearing what they always wear…

Kanoko evaded the conversation with a question, "Where are Ino's and Choji's parents?" Kanoko always knew Inoichi and Choza to be close by wherever her father was.

Yoshino responded with a scoff, " **They** wanted to be responsible and **caring** parents and actually **sought out their children**. Unlike your sorry excuse for a father. He decided the best course of action was to wait for you to find us." She finished crossing her arms and turning from Shikaku.

Shikaku scratched the back of his head, "Haha. Well it worked, didn't it? They're here now, aren't they?"

Shikamaru sighed dramatically at his parents. He just didn't understand them.

Kanoko just smiled slightly. As much as her family drove her insane, they were still hers.

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In a special sectioned off area, not too high in the stands, but not too low either, were three special seats. Standing next to these seats were two guards each – and all three sets from a different village.

Walking in, the Hokage made his way to his seat, on the far left. Sitting down, he noticed a rather annoyed looking Raikage with his head leaning on his hand.

"Bored already Raikage? I thought you would be in anticipation: To watch the team your brother trained fight in the matches." The Hokage asked him with a knowing smile.

The Raikage, Ay, just scoffed, not moving an inch, "That won't be until the second match and even then, they won't be losing to Leaf genin, so it's going to be a waste of my time."

The Hokage smirked, "Confident are we? I guess we will just have to watch and see." The Hokage then searched the area before asking further, "Where is your brother anyways? I don't believe I've seen him."

Ay closed his eyes, getting further annoyed, "Ha! I left that idiot at home!"

Hearing chuckling from the Third Hokage, the Raikage moved from his hand and looked over, "What is so funny?"

Hiruzen just shook his head and looked down at the center of the arena. Curious, Ay looked down as well, to see what the Leaf kage was losing his shit over.

Ay's eyes went wide as he yelled, "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Down in the arena's center was Killer Bee, a mic in hand, and jumping back and forth on his feet. Bee spoke into the mic, "All ya ready to drop some beats?! Yay?!"

The Raikage shook with rage, before jumping over the railing, "Drop Kick!"

Hearing his brother's famous "drop kick" Bee looked up, but it was too late.

"GYAHHH!" He wailed in pain from the impact. Sand flew up and into the first set of stands at the blow, making those people cough at all the sand hitting them in the face.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY PUT!" Ay yelled at his brother, who was still planted firmly between the sand and his foot.

"Bro?!" Bee whined, spitting out sand.

Shaking his fist, his eyes closed in anger, he shouted, "THAT'S IT! We're going home! I didn't want to come here anyways! You can explain to your team why they're going home as genin!" And with that, he grabbed his brother and dragged him out of the arena.

Bee kicked and screamed in misery, "BUT BRO! Come one! Don't punish the kids! They didn't do anything wrong, ya know! Ya fool, ya fool!"

All anyone could hear as they passed through the gates of the arena was a loud bang and "How dare you call your onii-san a fool?!"

Back up in the stands, the Hokage just sweat-dropped. " _At least we don't have to worry about the Cloud now…_ "

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Kanoko left her brother with her parents before walking down the nearly empty stairwell.

In all honesty, when she saw her mother get into one of her "my poor babies are growing up" moods, she made a strategic move by sneaking away while her mother focused her attentions on Shikamaru. She felt no remorse for abandoning her brother, but she did get an amused smirk from her father before escaping.

"Hey."

Kanoko turned around, interrupting her from her thoughts, and looked back at the voice. It was Hyuuga Neji.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow at him before he spoke, "For what reason do continue to put up being on the same team as a failure like Naruto?"

Kanoko looked at him in interest. She was curious to why he hated Naruto so much. To her knowledge, Neji barely knew him. Perhaps the two had another run in?

Instead of answering his question, she posed one of her own, "Why do you continue to fight alongside a ninja with no skill for ninjutsu or genjutsu?"

The Hyuuga crossed his arms with a firm frown on his face, "Hmph. Point taken."

" _Ah, so Lee is without the ability to use both ninjutsu and genjutsu. This will prove helpful. Thank you Hyuuga._ " Kanoko thought before turning around to walk away, believing the conversation to be done.

"You should teach him to know his place in life."

Kanoko stopped, hand still on the railing of the stairs and back to Neji.

Neji continued, "You and I are not too different. We both are prodigies among prodigies. I am of the branch family, but stronger with more potential than any main family member of my age, but I will never be considered anything, but secondary. You are the second born child to a prominent clan head. Your skills far exceed many of your clan – especially your brother's. And yet, you will never be heir or clan head. Even if your brother dies, the Naras would never accept a female as their clan leader."

Kanoko's hand tightened around the railing.

"We have the potential to be the greatest, but our fates are to be caged birds. Wings forever clipped and stuck behind glass walls – watching others stumble around like fools."

A silence took over and Kanoko believed he was waiting for a response. Kanoko decided to deny him of that – choosing to continue on her path. His intent was likely to anger her or justify his own twisted logic. She would deny him on both accounts.

Just as she was about to move again, he spoke, "Fools like Hinata and Naruto. Cowards, pests, failures. They may believe they can change, but no matter how much they grow, no matter how much they try, they will never be able to escape their fates: To be failures."

Kanoko turned her head slightly, chuckling darkly, "How pathetic."

Neij's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?"

Kanoko just continued to stare, unimpressed, "If anyone is unbefitting of becoming a ninja – it is you. You, who would tell me fate is absolute and that everyone must accept it." Kanoko paused, "You refuse to believe your own mantra and yet you impose it on others? Tell me, if you believe in accepting your fate and playing the role as you've been assigned…"

Kanoko walked up the stairs and stepped right in front of Neji, close to his face, "…Why haven't you bowed on your hands and knees to your clan's heir and **kissed her feet**?"

Neji's face contorted into one of rage, fists clenching. How dare she mock him with emotionless eyes and tell him that his words are worthless.

Kanoko wasn't done, however. Starting into his eyes, looking bored, "You're no cage bird. You're the bird fell from the sky and instead of getting up, you clipped your own wings – ashamed at your own weakness."

Kanoko backed away and grabbed the railing again before finishing, "You and I are nothing alike. I support my brother in his position. I believe in my team's potential – both of them. I know my worth and I know my faults, but I don't limit myself with weak ideologies. I train with purpose, I fight with purpose, I laugh with purpose, and I cry with purpose. That purpose is to protect those that matter to me. To protect my village and my home. Some may say it is a purpose given to me by another – forced upon me – but it is the purpose I have given… I will give my life for."

Kanoko chuckled lowly, "You're going to lose this fight, Hyuuga." She smirked, "And the sad part is that you don't even know why."

Kanoko almost reached the bottom when she was met with the face of one Rock Lee. His face was pointed to the floor and he was shaking – for what reason she wasn't sure.

Deciding to ignore him, she walked around him. Before she could open the door to the outside he spoke, "I understand your words. I, myself, too believe in a strong purpose. I have trained day and night to better myself. To protect those precious to me at all costs."

Kanoko just started opening the door, not interest in getting caught in another emotional conversation.

Lee continued with a loud voice, "But I will not allow you to treat my teammate in such a way! Team Gai will beat Team Kakashi! I won't give up and I won't back down because that is my ninja way!"

Kanoko shrugged dully, walking out the door.

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Entering the center of the arena, Kanoko looked up. The noise from the audience was deafening and the lights were harsh. She thought of the pressure, being watched and judged by hundreds and wondered how children ever formed the courage to fight under such conditions.

Looking back down, she spotted her teammates. Kanoko walked slowly up to Naruto and Sakura, hands in her pockets. "Kanoko! Are you ready to show that blind girly man what dirt taste like?!" Naruto shouting.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "I'm not even sure where to begin on that statement."

Sakura just giggled at Kanoko while Naruto narrowed his eyes at his teammate.

"WELCOME!"

All the genin turned their heads up to the noise. Above them, in a special sectioned off area was a robed man standing with his arms at his sides. Behind him, sitting, was their own Hokage. Looking to the right, Kanoko noticed an empty seat. She wondered where the Raikage was…

"We will now begin the final round of the Chunin Exams hosted by the Village Hidden in the Sand. We ask the audience that you do not leave until all the matches have concluded." The Kazekage finished before sitting down, next to the Hokage.

Stepping before them was another Sand ninja – a jounin this time. "I will be the final proctor for this exam. The rules for the final round are: That there are none. Anything goes. The match will be determined when all three members are no longer able to continue or are dead. Remember, you need three members for each match, so if one dies…" The proctor paused before continuing, "I will be in the area, monitoring the matches and can end the match whenever I feel like it – no arguments."

The proctor turned to the match listing, "Now! There has been a change up in the matches. The Raikage has pulled his team from the exams and Team Asuma will move up as defaulted."

Choji laughed out, "Oh! Lucky!"

Shikamaru looked to his sister, now completely sure he would facing her during the exams. She didn't look back at him to meet his stare.

The proctor continued, "We will begin with the first match: Team Gai vs Team Kakashi! All others, go to the sectioned off area and wait for your match."

Naruto growled, clenching his fist as the others left. Looking over to Neji, he stuck his fist out, pointed towards Neji before saying, "I'll show you! I'll show you that people can change! That anyone can become more than they are – more than just a failure!"

Tenten looked over to Neji nervously. She looked over to her other teammate and looked bewildered at his face. His stance was firm as he stared harshly at Kanoko. She had only ever seen that expression directed at Neji. She wondered what caused such reaction from Lee.

The Hyuuga crossed his arms, closing his eyes, "There is nothing you can show me. I already see clearly and you are no match for me."

Kanoko chuckled lowly, "Still licking your wounds, Hyuuga?" Kanoko knew the more Neji acted emotionally, they better chance they had of winning.

Lee jumped in his teammate's defense, "The only one that will be licking wounds is you!"

"Hold on you brats! I haven't told you to begin yet." The proctor groaned at them.

Kanoko, eyes firm on Team Gai, told her teammates, "Sakura. Naruto. Remember the plan." Sakura nodded with confidence and Naruto grinned, rubbing his nose in excitement.

Neji narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Lee, Tenten. You two focus on Naruto and the pink haired one. I will take care of the other one."

Lee looked back at Neji in disagreement, "No! Allow me to face her!"

Kanoko just smirked. " _Already fighting amongst themselves? This will be easier than I thought._ " And really? As if Naruto was going to let her face off with Neji.

Tenten cut in between her teammates, "Guys! Come on! They're doing this purposely to throw us off!"

Neji and Lee took one last look before taking defensive stances towards Team Kakashi.

Team Kakashi returned the gesture.

.

.

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"GO!" The proctor yelled.

"Byakugan!" Neji yelled, taking a normal Hyuuga stance.

 _ **In The Stands**_

"Hanabi. Play close attention. That boy has a very strong kekkei genkai - stronger than your sister's and possible stronger than yours." Hyuuga Hiashi, clan head, said to his youngest daughter.

Hanabi stared down at the stage in shock, "Strong than mine…?"

A few rows down, the four Leaf jounin sat together.

"You know… I'm glad I didn't place any bets on this match." Asuma said, inhaling his cigarette. Next to him, Gai exclaimed, "Haha! This is going to be a quick match! No question! They may be your students, Kakashi, but my team's been doing this longer than yours and their skills are exceptional."

Kurenai agreed, "I'm with Gai on this one. He has the prodigy, Hyuuga Neji, on his team. I heard he was dubbed as the strongest genin to ever come out of the academy."

Asuma shrugged, "I heard that too and with Lee's abilities. It's defiantly going to be tough." Asuma let out a breath of smoke, "But Kakashi's got a Nara on his team. A **motivated Nara**. That is itself is terrifying. And Ino told me that she can use two nature jutsus and has some skill with fuinjutsu. That's just rare."

Kurenai looked shocked, before looking over to Kakashi, "Is that true?"

Kakashi just shrugged in response, "Personally, I think Naruto is going to be the real surprise in this match."

Gai barked out a laugh, "Well the completion is on! I bet you my team will win! The loser has to run around Suna 100 times in his bare feet!"

Kakashi just simply gestured to Gai. Gai took that as acceptance, so he turned to his team, shouting, "GO TEAM! SHOW KAKASHI'S TEAM YOUR BURING YOUTH!"

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

"YES! GAI-SENSEI! WE SHALL MAKE YOU PROUD!" Lee yelled back to his sensei, turn his back to Team Kakashi.

" _Idiot._ " Kanoko thought, taking off in a run and leaping over his teammates. Kanoko drew her sword and slammed it down on Lee – just barely missing him as his teammate called out to him.

"Lee! Get your head in the fight!" Neji chastised him before running to Kanoko, arm extended to strike her chakra points. Kanoko applied chakra to her feet , leaping backwards and over Neji.

Making her way back to her team, she told them, "Naruto. Remember. Distance." Naruto just laughed, "I know, I know! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

" _Clever. He distributed his chakra evenly, so even I can't tell which one is the real one._ " Neji thought, taking a defensive position, "Tenten."

"On it!" She responded to her teammate, before leaping in the air and sending a wave of kunai and shrunken towards the clones.

"Sorry, but your opponent's me!" Sakura yelled throwing a few kunai with bombs, blowing the weapons away from Naruto. Sakura then raced over to Tenten, as Tenten jumped back. Just as Tenten pulled out her scroll for another attack, Sakura formed a few hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" A medium size ball of fire flew towards Tenten. She ducked out of the way, but not before her shoulder was grazed – charring it.

"Tenten!" Lee yelled to his teammate in concern.

 _ **In the Stands**_

"Wow! I had no idea that forehead knew fire style jutsus!" Ino exclaimed.

Choji, who was munching on chips said, "Isn't that the jutsu that Sasuke uses?"

Ino looked shocked, "You're right! Ahh! Forehead! Thinking she is going to impress Sasuke with her fire jutsu!"

Shikamaru's eyes just narrowed.

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

Neji looked over to his female teammate. Her dominant arm was hit. That wasn't good.

Shifting his body around to avoid another attacked from Naruto's shadow clones, he gave Naruto an unimpressed look, "It seems I was right."

Naruto gritted his teeth and growled, "What do you mean?!"

Neji smirked, "You're teammates are holding their own against mine, but you… You're just a child, playing around like your still in the academy. You probably only made it this far because of them."

Naruto growled before calling more clones and attacking. Neji was deflecting all of his attacks and right when Naruto thought he had him, Neji whipped around and sent the real Naruto flying. Naruto groaned as hit the ground.

Quickly moving further away, Naruto quickly made another group of clones and started attacking him directly again. Smirking, Neji started taking on two at a time, making quick work of Naruto's clones and making his way to the real one.

Before Neji got close, Naruto jumped back again and made more clones. Neji looked around, looking for the one farthest away. " _Found him._ " Neji thought running passed the clones, "Your mistake, Naruto, is your fear. You're so afraid to get close to me, that you are making it obvious which one is the real one: The coward keeping his distance!" Neji ran to the real Naruto, with his arm ready to strike with the Gentle Fist and closing one of Naruto's chakra points.

Just as Neji was a foot away from Naruto, he saw him smirk slightly, " _What is he smirking about?_ "

"Boom." Was all Naruto said.

Feeling chakra below, Neji looked down, " _A seal?!_ " A light pink pattern lit on the ground, exploding in Neji's face – sending him back in pain. Neji grunted as he hit the ground, thankfully on his feet. He hunched over, holding his front as it stung with pain.

"NEJI!" Tenten and Lee yelled.

Neji looked up and watched Naruto walk up – completely with not a single scratch. Neji's eyes widen, "It was a clone… How?!" Naruto just laughed, scratching the back of his head. "When you failed to hit Kanoko, she planted an explosive seal. My job was to get you close to it. Guess I'm the genius for tricking you, huh?!" Naruto laughed at Neji's foolishness.

Kanoko looked over and yelled, "What did I tell you about bragging in a middle of a fight!?"

Naruto looked back annoyed and crossed his arms before muttering, "You just have to ruin everything, don't you? No fun jerk."

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. Naruto looked up and saw Neji coming for him – pissed. He was able to duck away, but not before getting hit in the shoulder – just a hair away from a chakra point.

" _Damn! That was close!_ " Naruto thought.

.

Kanoko turned her attention back to her opponent: Rock Lee. Watching Lee take off to help his teammate, Kanoko jumped in front of him to prevent him from going further. Giving him an unimpressed looked, she taunted him further, "I guess your "genius" is not as impressive as you present him to be."

"Neji won't be defeated so easily!" Lee yelled to him, taking another fighting stance. Turning to Kanoko he said, "You technique is impressive. The way you evade my attacks… It's like you are familiar with my fighting style."

Kanoko just raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? Is that so." Kanoko, of course, wasn't going to tell him that she asked (blackmailed) her sensei into revealing Gai's fighting style's secrets.

 _ **In the Stands**_

"You taught your student Gai's moves and technique… Clever." Asuma told Kakashi.

Kakashi just scratched the back of his head, "Oh you know. Just planning ahead." Kakashi sweat-dropped, " _Even if it took my own student blackmailing me._ "

Gai just huffed at his rival before yelling to his student, "Lee! Go ahead! Take them off!"

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

Lee stopped to look up at his teacher. Lee was pushed back by Kanoko to the top of a large rock. Kanoko waited from a safe distance with her sword in front of her protectively. Lee looked up to his sensei, confused, "But sensei! I thought you told me only in emergencies and if someone's life is in danger?!"

Gai gave him a thumbs up, "This is an exception!"

Lee nodded vigorously as Kanoko narrowed her eyes. Kanoko saw Kakashi get closer to the railing, curious as well. Lee pulled back his orange leg warmers to reveal weights.

" _Weights? That's not going to make much of a difference._ " Sakura thought, evading another attack from Tenten – who was struggling with her aim, due to her shoulder.

Then Lee dropped them.

It was like a bomb just went off – smoke and sand went everywhere.

" _Gai… You are too much._ " Kakashi thought, a little worried for his student.

Lee grinned before running behind Kanoko with great speed. Kanoko grunted in surprise as she was hit from behind, barely saving herself from the attack by placing her sword in-between her and the kick. Before she could even land properly, she was attacked by another kick, this time to her front.

She took the hit that time, eyes going wide in pain and blood escaping her mouth. She landed on her feet when he came from the side to land a punch.

Kanoko spit at him, "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!" Steel-like water senbon struck him in the front, causing him to run back, before quickly twisting around and going for her opposite side.

Pushing chakra into her feet she jumped forward and rolled to the side. She was just barely avoiding each hit. " _This kid is fast! I'll need more chakra to keep up!_ " Summoning her seal in her arm, she took a hit from Lee in order to grab his foot and draining his chakra, but not before coughing up blood at the hit.

Sliding to the ground behind her, she wiped her mouth and winced at the pain in her stomach as she straighten. Lee was a few feet away, mystified at the sudden drain of chakra. Taking advantage if the moment, she ran through a series of hand signs, "Wind Style: Vacuum Bomb!"

A few of the air needles hit Lee, sending him farther back. Kanoko quickly pushed off the ground and flew towards Lee, slamming her sword down – this time nicking his leg.

"ARG!" Lee yelled in anguished as he ran away, with a small limp. Kanoko quickly followed him. Both traded blow for blow. Small amount of blood and sweat flew from both of them as they traveled around the arena, chasing each other.

 _ **In the Stands**_

"Wow Kakashi. She's really keeping up. I don't think I've ever seen a Nara run so fast – unless they were running away." Asuma said, one eyebrow raise and his cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth.

"You think so poorly of us, kid." A bored voice drawled out from behind. The four jounin turned around to see one Nara Shikaku.

Asuma sweat-dropped before nervously apologizing, "I… I only meant… Uh, help guys?" He asked his friend. His "not girlfriend" responded, "You're the one you got into this mess, you can get yourself out." She finished with a smirk.

Kakashi smiled at his student's father, "I was just about to tell my uninformed college here that the Naras are skilled in many ninja arts – and in fact are the most difficult ninja to defeat without large losses."

"Suck up." Asuma mumbled at his – former – friend.

Shikaku just chuckled lowly, "I got it Kakashi. You're a better teacher than Asuma. Have I satisfied your ego enough, so we can watch my daughter's match in peace?"

Kakashi just smiled, turning around in his seat, while Asuma sunk lower, pouting like a kid.

Kakashi and Asuma had a bit of a competition going: Who's Nara would become a better ninja. It was an added bonus that both were children of the Jounin Commander – a man both of them looked up to and respected.

Shikaku just laughed at their childish antics and decided if it makes his children stronger – more able to defend themselves against future dangers, he was ok with it.

Gai, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth, watching Lee. He knew Lee wouldn't give up and hoped he would come out of this ok.

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

Naruto went in for another strike on Neji, who was having a harder time dodging, thanks to his injuries, when Naruto saw him smirk. Still in midair, Naruto watched as his punch was deflected, causing him to fly backwards and all of his clones to poof away.

" _How did he block all of us at the same time?!_ " Naruto thought, watching Neji spin around before stopping and looking back at him with a smirk.

"Did you really think you won?" Neji told Naruto. Naruto grunted in pain as he sat up.

Tenten looked over at Neji and thought with a smirk, " _Rotation. One of Neji's special defenses. Naruto doesn't stand a chance._ " Tenten quickly looked back at her opponent when she saw an array of kunai head her way.

"It's just plain stupid to ignore you opponent." Sakura told her with a smirk.

Tenten narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth before smirking, "It is, but you're hardly a threat."

Sakura growled, "Oh yeah?! How's your shoulder, then?!" Sakura didn't give her time to answer before she sent another paper bomb her way. Tenten jumped back before jumping into the air and spinning around with a scroll from her hand.

"Try this on for size!" Tenten yelled as a series of blades of all times flew out of her scroll and at Sakura. Confident in her move, Tenten hit the ground and looked up at her opponent, expecting Sakura to be down or injured badly.

Tenten's eyes went wide.

Sakura was just standing there, standing in a girly pose with one arm behind her – weapons scattered around her, but not one hit on Sakura. Sakura followed it up with a wink and her tongue sticking out.

"What?! How?!" Tenten yelled, in complete shock.

"I guess you're more injured than you thought!" Sakura taunted, running towards her with a kunai in her hand, throwing another paper bomb at her.

" _How did she evade everything I threw at her?!_ " Tenten growled at herself, angry at her failure. She jumped to evade another attack. When Tenten hit the ground, she immediately fell backwards, hitting her head roughly on the ground. Tenten choked out some blood at the pain, before bending over on her hands and knees. She looked back to where she landed, " _A rock?! How did I miss that?!_ "

Tenten looked over to Sakura. Behind her she could see her teammates fighting.

Not fighting.

On the ground bleeding!

Her teammates lost! And needed medical attention!

"NEJI! LEE!" Tenten cried to them. She watched as Naruto and Kanoko continued the assault, hurting them further.

Why hasn't anyone stopped the match?! Her teammates were dying! They needed to stop the match!

Tenten looked down at her hands, " _Is it because I'm still fighting?_ " She recalled what the proctor said: The match wasn't over until **all** of the team members were unable to fight.

Tenten watched as Sakura slowly approached. " _There's no way I can beat all three of them! Especially when they took out both Neji and Lee!_ "

Coming to realization, that the only way to save her teammates from death was to give up, she raised her hand in the air, "I give up!"

"TENTEN NO!"

Tenten looked over, shocked. She was sure that came from Neji, but… She thought… Wasn't he…

Slowly her vision changed: Kanoko was still on even terms with Lee and Neji was dominating over Naruto. Standing in front of her was Sakura, but with more scratches than she remembered.

"I-Impossible! Genjutsu!" Tenten exclaimed looking at a pleased Sakura.

Sakura giggled, "I had you fooled! I admit, it wasn't easy, but you were so concerned with your injured arm, it gave me an opening to get you into a genjutsu. I am surprised I was able to keep you in it for so long. I thought for sure you would break out when you used that scroll attack!"

Kanoko's eye twitched, " _If it's not one teammate bragging, it's the other one…_ "

"Tenten is disqualified for admitting defeat. She will join the other genin and wait for the outcome of the battle." The proctor shouted before teleporting Tenten out of the arena.

 _ **In the Stands**_

"Well, that was shocking. I had no idea Sakura was capable of such great genjutsu." Shikamaru said pensively, while holding his hand to his chin.

Ino replied to him, "Well duh! She was always the best in class when it came to chakra control. It only make since she would be good at genjutsus! If you were awake more often, you'd know that too!" Ino finished, crossing her arms and glaring at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru gave her an annoyed look before Choji interrupted, "She's right, you know. Everyone knows that about Sakura."

"Thank Choji. You're a real grade A friend." Shikamaru said dully at his friend's betrayal.

Choji just munched on his chips and replied with a full mouth, "Anytime pal!"

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

Neji narrowed his eyes at Naruto, "You may have taken Tenten out, but you are far from getting ahead in this fight!"

"Whatever you white eyed freak! You're just upset that Sakura-chan kicked your girlfriend's ass!" Naruto spat back at him.

Neji growled before taking another defensive stance as a group of Narutos attacked. Spinning around, each Naruto was sent back or poofed. Naruto hit the ground roughly again, panting in pain and exhaustion.

Neji stood up straight again, "It's no use. Nothing can break my perfect defense: The Eight Trigram Palm Rotation."

Naruto sat up panting, about to tell Neji off before he interrupted Naruto, "And this is the end for you. You are within range of my Eight Trigrams. You can't escape."

Naruto slowly stood, confused, but ready for his attack.

Neji took a wide stance, "Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams – Sixty-Four Palms!"

 _ **In the Stands**_

The Hyuuga clan head opened his mouth in shock, "That stance… It can't be!"

 _In the Genin Area_

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled out.

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, as Neji flew elegantly, but swiftly at him.

"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms!" Neji yelled, twisting his body around fluidly to snap Naruto with his fingers, in his chest.

Naruto took a few steps back, croaking out noises of pain, but the assault continued.

"Four Palms!"

"Eight Palms!"

"Sixteen Palms!"

Naruto was practically crying at the sheer amount of pain running through his body.

"Thirty-Two Palms!"

"Sixty-Four Palms!"

"ARGAGGGGG!" Naruto screamed in immense pain, flying backwards and hitting the ground hard. There was a moment of silence, as everyone watched. Even Kanoko and Lee paused their fight to watch.

The proctor calmly walked over, "Hn. Looks like the brat is out." Just as he said that, though, Naruto flopped over to his front, pushing his arms, trying to get up.

Neji looked down at him in disgust, "You're lucky to be breathing. Just stay down."

Naruto growled at himself, his hand slipping on the ground, sending him face first back down. " _Come on!_ " Naruto yelled at himself, willing his body to move.

Deciding to "kick the dog while he's down", Neji smirked wickedly, "Well, it must be frustrating to realize how utterly hopeless it all was: This little dream of yours."

Neji laughed before continuing, "You **thought** you could win with hard work alone. Such a poor illusion."

Kanoko looked at her teammate, " _Come on Naruto. Don't let him win. Show him your ninja way – show him your Will of Fire. Blind him with how brightly it burns._ "

Naruto raised his head, his whole body still on the ground. His vision was spotting and he would only see Neji's feet.

"To top it all off, you even had other people fooled to your way of thinking." Neji started in an annoyed voice.

" _Hinata._ " Naruto thought, thinking back to her stand against Neji.

Neji scoffed, "Even your teammate, a Nara with actual skill and abilities believed in your foolish idealism. She even had to nerve to call me pathetic, but clearly she's the pathetic one – for believing in such a failure like you."

Growling lowly, Naruto shakily pulled his body up, using one limb at a time. Getting into a standing position, with his body wavering back and forth, he looked at Neji and laughed when Neji questioned him, "How?!"

Naruto answered low and tired, "Like… I said… I just… Don't know… When to give up…"

"Stay down! You'll only get further injured. I have nothing against **you** personally!" Neji told Naruto firmly.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow and asked Lee, "How was everything that just happened not personal? Is your teammate ok in the head?" Lee just put a finger on his chin before looking down in deep thought, before shrugging – not sure himself.

Naruto laughed lowly – or at least struggled to do so past the pain – before telling Neji, "Is that so? How touching! You're going to make me cry! Well, I have plenty against you!"

Neji gave Naruto a hard stare, "I don't know what you mean."

Kanoko just face-palmed, " _Seriously?! He had_ _ **no**_ _idea? None at all?!_ "

Naruto looked just as bewildered, "Seriously, you have no idea?! And here I thought you were a genius! You don't remember how you attack Hinata with your mind games: Tearing her down when she worked so hard to get here!"

"That has nothing to do with you." Neji told him plainly.

"You mocked her! Taunting her with that main/branch family crap! That doesn't give you the right to decide who's a failure. THAT'S WHAT I GOT AGAINST YOU!" Naruto yelled at him.

Gritting his teeth, his face contorting his anger, "I'll tell you why… I'll tell you about the Hyuuga curse!" Neji moved his head band and bandages showed his curse mark.

"This mark… It is the instrument in which they keep us in our place!" Neji told Naruto.

Neji started to go into detail about his past. Specifically the day his father was murdered – by his own clan.

"Only in death, is my father free of this evil curse mark!" Neji's hand tightened around his headband. Looking down at it, he said softly, "They were so much alike – twin brothers, but their destinies had been determined at birth, when one was born before the other."

Neji looked back at Kanoko, "Much like your teammate. She and Shikamaru are twins, but they will never be equal in the eyes of her clan. No matter her skill, she will always be the second child, the girl. Never to be clan head and she will never be truly respected."

Naruto looked over at Kanoko in shock before his face turning to one of sadness.

Neji spoke again, "And this match is the same. This match was determined the moment I was selected to be your opponent!"

Panting a little harder, Naruto spoke, "Ok, so your father was killed a long time ago and I know it wasn't fair – and you're upset about that. I understand, but that's got nothing to do with destiny! If you think I'm buying that, you're wrong!" Naruto finished, breathing heavily – as if he is using the last bit of his strength to talk.

"You will never understand." Neji said before hitting Naruto again with the gentle fist. "It's over, failure."

Neji turned around to walk to Kanoko, to finished the fight.

"W-Wait! I'm… I'm not finished! I never go back on my word! Because that is my NINJA WAY!" Naruto yelled, getting back up. "I don't buy this destiny crap! If you believe it…" Naruto panted a bit harder, "Why aren't you the one… Walking away?!"

Neji gritted his teeth, remembering Kanoko's words.

" _You refuse to believe your own mantra and yet you impose it on others? Tell me, if you believe in accepting your fate and playing the role as you've been assigned…"_

 _Kanoko walked up the stairs and stepped right in front of Neji, close to his face, "…Why haven't you bowed on your hands and knees to your clan's heir and_ _ **kissed her feet**_ _?"_

"You impudent little…!" Neji growled out to Naruto. "You have no idea what it's like to be branded with a mark that sets you apart! A marked that can never be whiped cleaned!" Neji yelled with a broken voice.

Kanoko stared ahead thinking, " _Oh, I don't know. Give me 10 minutes. I'm sure I could think of something._ "

Naruto just laughed, though it came out broken with his harsh panting, "Oh yeah. I know what's that's like." Closing his eyes and grinning, "Well, who cares?"

Neji gritted his teeth, "Worthless little…"

"You think you have troubles! You're not the only one! Have you thought maybe Hinata is suffering too! It's not her fault that she was born to the main house! Did you ever think, that all she wanted was your respect? But you spat on her! After all you said about destiny! You don't really believe it either, do you?!" Naruto coughed out.

Neji just chuckled, "I've blocked all your chakra points. How are you going to beat me without chakra?"

Naruto growled, "You think you can see everything, don't you?!"

"Yes. Yes I can." Neji smirked.

"I'll show you! I'll beat you!" Naruto yelled before closing his eyes and calling on the fox inside for chakra, " _If you're there… GIVE ME YOUR STRENGTH!_ "

*bum bump*

Naruto made a hand sign and started focusing within.

"Why fight a hopeless battle?" Neji asked.

"Because people call me a failure. I'll prove them wrong!" Naruto told his with a smirk. "ARRRRGGGHH!"

Orange swirled around Naruto.

Kanoko's eyes widened, " _Here?! In front of everyone?!"_ Kanoko took a stance, prepared to race forward if needed. Lee looked over to Kanoko curious by her change in posture.

Neji's eyes widened, " _Where? Where is that chakra coming from?!_ "

The chakra started getting stronger as that sand around started flying in all directions.

Naruto and Neji started exchanging blows again – only this time, Naruto was faster and stronger. After hitting off from each other, Naruto took a stance before running towards Neji with a massive amount of power, "If you think it's futile to fight, then don't! Just stand there and take it! I'll change the way of the Hyuuga clan." Naruto yelled right before Neji's rotation and Naruto chakra punch hit, "AFTER I BECOME HOKAGE!"

The whole ground shook from their combined attack.

Lee, Kanoko, and Sakura jumped back and out of the way. When the smoke cleared, two holes were created: Each holding Neji or Naruto.

Getting up, Neji coughed from the pain and smoke. He walked slowly, in pain, towards Naruto's body. Seeing him lying on the ground, eyes closed, he said, "Sorry, but it's reality. You're a failure and this is over-"

Neji didn't get to finish as Naruto popped out of the ground…

And punched Neji right in the jaw.

"ARRRGH!" Naruto roared as Neji hit the ground.

HARD.

.

Shaking on the ground, Neji choked out, "I… Can't… Move…" He watched as Naruto walked over, "I should have known you would use the shadow clone jutsu." Neji finished.

Naruto breathed hard before saying, "You know, I failed the genin exam three times. There was one jutsu, no matter what I tried, I just couldn't master." Naruto paused, "The clone jutsu."

"So don't tell me that you can't change what you are." Naruto looked back at Neji, "You can do it too, because, unlike me, you aren't a failure."

.

"Hyuuga Neji can no longer fight and as such, is removed from the match!" The proctor yelled to the crowd, inciting them to cheer in victory.

Naruto fell to his butt, completely exhausted as Sakura ran over to heal his wounds. Smiling down at him, she told him, "You did great Naruto."

Naruto responded with a large grin, "Now all we have left is bushy brow!"

Kanoko smiled at Naruto, as she jumped over Lee to congratulate Naruto as well, "I think you mean, now all is left is for me to beat Rock Lee."

Naruto pouted, "Come on! I can still go! Just watch!"

Kanoko shook her head with a small smile, "No Naruto. I let you have your match; you'll let me have mine." Kanoko looked to Sakura communicating to her to keep Naruto where he was – even if it meant knocking him out. He was in no condition to fight for a while.

Naruto crossed his arms and stuck his bottom lip out, "Whatever! Just hurry up already! I'm getting hungry!"

"Shut up Naruto!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, threatening him with her fists.

Naruto laughed nervously, "Ok Sakura-chan… No need to get violent…"

Turning back to Lee, Kanoko said, "You're teammates have been disqualified."

Lee interrupted Kanoko, "I am aware! Despite this, I will still win this match for Team Gai! I will not give up and I will not back down!"

"Then let's agree. I promise that neither of my teammates will aid me in anyway, so long as you promise not to aim for them. In turn, the winner of our little match will declare their team the winner." Kanoko finished.

"Kanoko!" Naruto yelled.

"This is not a debate Naruto." Kanoko told him firmly.

Lee thought for a moment before saying, "I agree to your terms. I would not fight an injured man while he is down anyways."

" _Are we sure he's a ninja and not a samurai?_ " Kanoko thought with an unimpressed look.

.

Jumping away from Sakura and Naruto, Kanoko turned to face Lee with a defensive stance – sword in front – before saying, "Then let's start."

Kanoko ran forward, "Wind Style: Vacuum Bomb!" Needles of air raced towards Lee, but he was able to avoid them – having seen this jutsu before. Kanoko ran over and met Lee blow for blow. Both of them were a little slower – still tired from their earlier fight.

Lee hit the ground sliding back after a powerful swing from Kanoko.

Standing up slowly, he released some of his bandages. Kanoko's eyes narrowed in curiosity.

" _I just have to get her into the air somehow…_ " Lee thought, looking around. Kanoko jumped back when Lee appeared in front of her. Lee was swift to leap underneath her while she was in the air and sent a kick her way. She met the kick with a kick of her own, but it sent her farther up in the air.

Lee smirked before jumping above her. In the air, Kanoko stared as the bandages from Lee surrounded her. "Hidden Jutsu: Primary Lotus!" Kanoko watched helplessly as she was wrapped up and grabbed by Lee, spinning them around – right into the ground.

They hit the ground with a large "boom"! Smoke flew as sand went in all directions.

"Kanoko!" Naruto and Sakura screamed.

As the smoke cleared, they saw a panting Lee, completely drained from the attack.

In the center of the hole was Kanoko.

*POOF*

And she was gone.

"Huh?!" Lee exclaimed.

"Hmm. That was an impressive technique. Had I not switched with a Shadow Clone before we started again, I may have been severely injured." Kanoko told Lee, calming assessing the damage. She then flickered over to where Lee was and pointed her sword at him, "You've expended yourself past your limits. I can understand, after watching a battle like Naruto's that you would be tempted to continue, but unlike Neji, I truly have no ill will towards you. Please forfeit."

Kanoko knew that he wouldn't quit, but she felt obligated to offer it to him.

Lee slowly stood, "No… I won't… I won't give up and loose. I… have too much to lose. I won't allow you to win. You are the student to my teacher's rival and you insulted my teammate. I promised you that I would win… And I never go back on my word! That is my Nindo!" Lee finished, standing up, looking determined.

Kanoko nodded, in understanding, "Then you leave me no choice." Was all Kanoko said before turning her blade upside down.

And slamming the non-bladed side down onto Lee's shoulder.

Hard.

"ARRRGGG!" Lee cried in pain.

 _ **In the Stands**_

"Gai! You need to tell your student to quit! He's only going to get injured beyond repair!" Kurenai yelled at Gai.

Gai stared below at his student, "I couldn't even if I wanted to. That's the thing about Lee. It's what is special about him: His determination."

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

Kanoko sent a sharp kick to his knee, causing Lee to scream out in pain again. For a final blow, Kanoko aimed for his head – to knock him out, but before she could follow through, Lee finally found enough energy to jump back.

"I… Won't… Lose… Tenten… Neji… Gai-sensei… They're all counting on me! I won't lose here!" Lee yelled before starting up into a run again.

Kanoko jumped back, " _More energy? What is he a Jinchuriki too?_ " Kanoko asked herself, knowing the answer to be false, but still annoyed by his perseverance.

Kanoko panted as Lee regained his previous speed. " _Damn. This again._ "

Running towards her quickly, he yelled, "The Leaf Village Lotus blooms twice!"

 _ **In the Stands**_

Kakashi looked to Gai, "No… Gai you didn't!"

Gai gave Kakashi a blank look, responding, "Yes. Yes I did."

Kakashi looked back down pulling up his headband to reveal his Sharingan, then back at Gai, "That… Then that genin."

"Yes."

Kakashi's stare turned harsh, his eyes angry, "If that isn't that most…!" Kakashi growled before asking, "Ok… Then how many inner gates can he open?"

"Five Gates."

"Gai!" Kurenai shouted at him, in pure shock.

Asuma sighed as well, disapproving of Gai's decision to train this to his student.

Kakashi turned back to Gai, "I don't know what this boy means to you Gai, but I shouldn't have to tell you that we never bring our personal feelings into play." Kakashi paused for added effect, "I wouldn't have thought that you were capable of this."

Gai gave Kakashi a betrayed and angry look, "You have no right. You know nothing about it. Nothing at all! That boy has something to prove and is determined to prove it. Even if it costs him his life. And I am determined to help him reach that goal. Because that goal is worth reaching."

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

Lee and Kanoko were standing far from each other when Lee took a focus stance.

Kanoko's eyes narrowed, " _What is this?_ "

"KANOKO! DON'T HOLD BACK!"

Kanoko looked up to see her sensei yelling at her. Her eyes widened. His expression… And he had his Sharingan activated. Her head jerked back to Lee and felt an immense amount of energy.

She quickly pulled out the Nine-Tail's chakra scroll, but it was knocked out of her hand when Lee flew at her with amazing speed. He jabbed her right in the stomach, blood flying from her mouth.

"GAHHH!" She cried as he landed another hit to her back. She looked at Lee and saw his whole face contorted and his body completely red.

Kanoko hit the ground, but before she could register anything, she was hit again. This time in the ribs.

"ARGG!" She screamed, feeling them crack.

 _ **In the Stands**_

"KANOKO!" Shikamaru screamed, holding his stomach – feeling her pain. His eyes were completely wide, marveling at Lee's speed. No one could even see him, he was going so fast.

Shikamaru grabbed the railing, fists clenched in pain and fear for his sister.

Ino and Choji looked over to their teammate in worry. It was just like that time…

" _Is it possible that they share each other's pain? Is their bond that strong?_ " Ino thought looking at Shikamaru as he winced in pain.

 _ **Somewhere Else in the Stands**_

Kakashi took a look at Shikaku from the corner of his eye.

Kakashi's eyes widen.

Shikaku was leaning back, completely relaxed with a smirk on his face.

" _What does he know_?" Kakashi thought suspiciously before turning his attention back to the match below.

Shikaku had caught his daughter's sensei's look and understood his suspicion. Shikaku himself would be worried as well – if he hadn't witnessed Kanoko's genius at work.

 _Flashback_

 _Shikaku was wondering around one of Konoha's training area, looking for his daughter. It was passed dinner time and Yoshino was worried that her obedient and perfect daughter hadn't returned. Looking over to Shikamaru, he shrugged and told him to try one of the training fields – knowing that Yoshino would send him out to find Kanoko._

 _When he heard a noise by the waterfall, he moved that way. When he got there though…_

 _He watched as a massive amount of water was running into a scroll in front of Kanoko._

 _With his mouth agape, he slowly walked over to her. Kanoko was on one knee with a hand sign and a bored look._

" _I honestly don't know what to ask first: How are you funneling that much water into a simple scroll or what could you possibly need that much water for?" Shikaku asked his daughter, shock still on his face and scratching the back of his head._

 _Kanoko shrugged and finished the seal before saying, "This Chunin Exams will be in the desert. The air will be too dry to pull any moisture from it."_

 _Shikaku looked back in wonder as his daughter went through a few more hand signs and applying chakra into the scroll._

" _You can pull moisture from the air…?" Shikaku paused and looked at his daughter seriously, "Kanoko. Where are you learning all this from?"_

 _Feeling a little caught, Kanoko turned her head away, rolling up her scroll, "I read… things…"_

 _Shikaku crossed his arms and gave his daughter a firm look, "You read things."_

 _Kanoko's eyes shift back and forth before settling back on her father's, "Yeah."_

 _Shikaku sighed, knowing that his daughter wasn't going to open up unless she wanted to. Instead he just shook his head and told her, "You missed dinner. Your mother is worried – let's go home before she yells at me again."_

 _Kanoko smirked a little, "She's going to yell at you regardless."_

 _Shikaku sighed miserably, "You might be right there…"_

 _Flashback End_

Shikaku was still worried about his daughter's extensive knowledge in scrolls and ninjutsu, but was confident in her ability to come out winning in any fight.

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

"KANOKO!" Sakura yelled, about to run over when she was pulled back by a serious looking Naruto, "Naruto! Kanoko needs help." Naruto shook his head, "This is a battle between bushy brow and Kanoko." Naruto paused before smirking viciously, "And Kanoko's not going down so easily!"

.

" _Damn… Bastard… I… Won't… Be beaten by some snot nose BRAT!_ " Kanoko thought, before running through hand signs, "Body Flicker." Kanoko disappeared, running away from Lee's assault and across the field.

Falling to one knee, Kanoko panted heavily. " _So he wants to play the speed game. I'll show him real speed._ " Pulling out a scroll, Kanoko slammed her hand down, activating it, before pushing herself into the air.

Lee was quickly making his way to Kanoko when he was suddenly pushed back by a large wave of water. The water continued to flow out of the scroll is great tidal waves, completely covering the field in four feet of water.

Kanoko fell on her feet, hitting the water with a mighty splash – droplets circling around her. She slowly stood up straight from her crouched position as Lee swam his way to the top of the water – applying chakra to his feet to balance on the water.

Kanoko took a stance, "That technique you used… It pushes your limits, completely destroying them and in turn granting you more chakra. Clever tactic." Kanoko ran through several hand signs quickly, "Unfortunately, in a battle of speed, I am always going to come out the victor."

And with that, Kanoko rushed out towards Lee at a ground breaking pace – using the water too increase her momentum.

"ARG!" Lee yelled, getting slammed into from behind with Kanoko's sword. He spun around, with equal speed and aimed a series of taijutsu moves.

Kanoko and Lee traded blows, sprinting from one end of the arena to the other. The walls cracking each time they traded blows near it. And water high in the air from the constant splashing from their feet.

 _ **In the Stands**_

Asuma's cigarette had fallen out of his mouth and Kurenai was in complete shock. Asuma stared ahead at the scene before him – the whole dome was silent with anticipation, "I-Incredible! How did she possibly…? All that water…"

Even Kakashi was in shock, "Not just the amount… All of it is flowing with her chakra – that's why it's floating on the surface of the sand and not being absorbed into the ground."

Gai turned his head sharply to his rival, "There is no way she is just a genin! Fuinjutsu skills of that magnitude…! What have you been teaching her?!"

Shikaku drawled out in agreement, "What **have** you been teaching her Kakashi? Hmm?"

Kakashi sweat-dropped at the dark looks he was receiving, "It wasn't me!" Kakashi finished, holding his hand in front of him.

"I taught her."

Everyone looked back at the voice.

"J-Jiraiya the sannin!" Kurenai stuttered out.

Shikaku placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully, "You… Hmmm. I suppose it makes sense. You, being a sealing master and all." Shikaku looked sideways thinking, " _If you had been around at all, but I don't think I'll point that out just yet._ "

Jiraiya barked out a laugh, hands on his hips, "Yeah, what can I say? I'm a sucker for the cute kids!"

The group sweat-dropped at him.

Jiraiya continued, "Ahh… So she's using that already… Must be serious." Putting his hand over his head, like he was blocking out sun, he said, "Aww! Looks like I already missed the blonde brat's match! I wanted to see if he used the jutsu I taught him too!"

Asuma choked before turning aggressively to Kakashi, "TWO of your students are being trained by a SANNIN?! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

Kakashi just shrugged with one of his closed eye smiles before focusing back on the match before him, " _It's only a matter of time until Lee's body falls apart. It can't take much more of this…_ "

 _ **Back in the Arena**_

Kanoko was panting heavily as she hit the surface of the water. " _I've already used two chakra scrolls and all the chakra I took from Lee. I'm on my last leg of chakra. I can't use the Nine-Tail scrolls – I may need them after this._ "

Kanoko blocked another hit from Lee, pushing her back into the wall. She quickly bounced off of it and swiveled around, kicking up water with her sword and slashing him in the thigh. " _And my attacks aren't causing him any pain or hesitation! Is he really not affected or is he in so much pain from this limit breaking technique that he can't feel additional pain?_ "

Kanoko dodge out of the way again, feeling the water level going down, " _I can't keep my chakra flowing through the water anymore and it's starting to sink into the stand._ "

Kanoko and Lee rushed forward, striking each other and landing at opposite sides.

Falling to her knee, Kanoko wheezed out air, " _I need to think of something!_ "

Lee got up and yelled, "I will not lose to you! I WILL MAKE MY SENSEI PROUD AND DEFEND MY NINJA WAY! FIFTH GATE!"

Kanoko's eyes widened as she saw the chakra completely pour out from him before rushing towards her with great speed and power. She only stared, still kneeling as she saw the water beneath him completely sink into the ground.

If felt like time slowed as he took one step in front of the other, getting closer and closer to her.

She continued to stare at his feet, unable to look at the power radiating around his fist that was aimed her way.

Could she evade? How?

Could she block it? With what?

She was completely lost.

.

All her training, all her jutsus, and she could only think of one thing, but she'd die before revealing it here: Where Orochimaru still lurked. That would be a sure way of putting a large neon target on her, her family, and-

Her family!

.

Lee was pushing all his muscles, he could feel them stretch and brake – bones cracking at the pressure. He just needed one more hit! One more hit and he would beat her! He would win! Win for Neji, for Tenten, for his sensei… He WOULD WIN!

"YARRRGGGG!" Lee roared in a battle call like fashion, swinging his arm around to knock Kanoko out.

*BOOM*

Sand, dry and wet, flew straight up in the air – at least 15 feet high before dropping back down. Dust flying everywhere, causing smoke to fill the area.

Everyone in the stands was on the edge of their seats – waiting.

Teeth grinding, breaths held - not a single eye blinked.

.

Slowly the dust cleared.

.

Lee was standing over Kanoko.

.

.

.

Frozen.

.

Under Lee was Kanoko, panting heavily as she held her hands firmly in a hand sign – Shadow Possession Jutsu. Lee's fist was stuck in the ground, impacting only a few inches from Kanoko.

Kanoko panted as she continued to hold Lee, waiting for his chakra to run dry.

Lee was beyond angry and disappointment in himself. He refused to back down! He pushed more and more chakra out to break the hold Kanoko had on him, but Kanoko was just a stubborn, holding the jutsu firm – even with blood running down her nose from the effort.

"I… Won't… LOSE!" Lee brokenly screamed out.

Kanoko felt her whole body shake with stress – she was going past her limits!

She slowly released her hands from each other, still barely keeping her hold on Lee. With her free hand, she started slowly and shakily going through one handed signs.

"Wat-ter St-style… Heavenly… We…eping…" Kanoko spit out water senbon – not nearly as powerful as before, but she was close enough and Lee was immobile enough to make them effective.

And they were effective.

One pierced his shoulder.

Another his knee.

And the last his neck.

.

Kanoko released the jutsu as Lee fell to the ground with a mighty boom.

.

"WHAAAAAA! AHHHHHHH! YEAAAAAH!" The crowd screamed in awe at the match.

The proctor walked over to Lee and gave him a look before yelling to the crowd, "ROCK LEE IS NO LONGER ABLE TO CONTINUE! THE MATCH GOES TO TEAM KAKASHI OF THE LEAF!"

Kanoko leaned back on her hands, her butt firmly on the ground as her teammates ran over to her.

"KANOKO! YOU DID IT! YOU TOOK OUT BUSHY BROW!" Naruto yelled, limping over. Sakura was next to him, helping him walk with a large smile plastered on her face.

"We did it!" She told Kanoko.

Kanoko just raised an eyebrow – her way of agreeing, not yet forming the energy to respond.

Once they got close enough though, Kanoko's eyes went wide in fear.

"GROUP HUG!" Naruto yelled, breaking Sakura's hold and leaping on Kanoko – knocking his titanium head into hers.

.

"Huh? Kanoko? KANOKO?!" Naruto asked her, shaking her back and forth.

.

.

May Tobirama's soul rest in peace.

.

.

.

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* * *

 **From: KassieJean**

 **I love cute moment between Shikamaru and Kanoko.**

 **From: gmilena1525**

 **I love scenes with shikamaru**

 **From: NightlyRowenTree**

 **Thanks for the update it was fantastic:3**

 **From: Imou**

 **I loved the special episode, and I don't care what you will say, Shikamaru blushed because Kanoko's face was close to his and he has a sister-complex and is secretly in love with her. That's my version and interpretation and I'm sticking with it, and no amount of reasoning will make me take off these shipping goggles :p**

 **Anyway, besides my precious pairing, I loved what you did with the plot! I think this may be the first fic that proposes having the chunin exams out of Konoha (at least from the amount of fics I'v read) and I love it when the mean guys don't get their ways (in your face Orochimaru!)**

 **I hope Sasuke won't go crazy, I wonder what you will do with him.**

 **Either way, good job and keep those chapters (and my ShikamaruxKanoko's precious love moments) coming! Thank you!**

 **From: Cyanococcus**

 **Aww how cute~ Shikamaru has a sister complex~**

 **From: Crystal Blue Butterfly**

 **You are a genius.**

 **I freaking love this story!**

 **I'm looking forward to the next update.**

 **Greetings! !**


	22. Chapter 21

_He watched the leaves dance in front of his face as he approached his brother. He was on top of the Hokage's office, looking down at the village._

" _I'm a little surprised to find you here. Normally you watch the village from the mountainside." He told his brother from behind._

 _His brother turned around, long dark hair moving slightly with the wind, and with a sincere smile, he said, "Tobirama! I'm just taking a break is all…"_

 _Tobirama crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "Hashirama. This is no time for breaks. We are just finishing up treaties with the newly formed nations, not to mention the work that must be done to finalize the village's structure. I firmly believed in a learning facility for the young to build their skills and form unity among the clans, but I can't remain as its only instructor."_

 _Hashirama gave his broody brother a sheepish look, scratching the back of his head, "Haha! But you're so good at it! Everyone says so!"_

 _Tobirama gave him a pointed look, "Certainly, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it." Tobirama's voice got darker, "One of them_ _ **wiped his nose on me.**_ _Allow me to repeat that:_ _ **he**_ _ **wiped his NOSE on ME.**_ "

 _Hashirama held his stomach as he laughed at his little brother's face. He stood up straighter as he heard approaching footsteps._

" _TOBIRAMA-SENSEI!"_

 _Tobirama turned around to see three of his students run up to him with large smiles on their face._

 _The boy with glasses spoke first, excited, "Sensei! It was amazing! Hiruzen-san hit the bullseye!" Tobirama raised an eyebrow with a slight smile before turning to the spikey haired boy, "Is that so, Hiruzen?"_

 _Hiruzen shook his head with a large grin while rubbing the bottom of his nose. Tobirama's face softened as he reached out to ruffle Hiruzen's hair. With his hand still on his head, Tobirama said, "Good job. I'm proud of you."_

" _Thank you sensei!" Hiruzen exclaimed, overjoyed, before all three ran away to train._

 _Tobirama watched them leave with a peaceful expression and a small smile on his face._

" _I think you like being a sensei more than you would admit." His brother told him, coming up from behind._

 _Tobirama closed his eyes, "Perhaps."_

.

.

.

Kanoko's eyes opened slowly. As her vision starting clearing, she stared at the ceiling. She continued to think about her dream – her memory. Her brother… She missed him more than she would be willing to admit. He was the light of the village and to her clan.

She wondered, not for the first time, if that made her the dark…

And then remembering Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura as children – before they were even genin…

Shaking shook her head lightly, pushing the memory away. She didn't want to think of those times.

Those times were gone.

Sitting up and groaning slightly, she looked around the room. She was in a basic hospital bed, but it didn't look like a hospital room. She held her abdomen as she slide her legs off of the bed and put on her shoes.

" _It's odd. I thought I would at least see Naruto or Sakura around._ " Kanoko thought, closing her eyes and trying to remember. She remembered winning the match with Lee – just barely, before her teammates ran over to her.

After that, she couldn't recall anything. Kanoko concluded that she must have expended more chakra than she was capable and her body faulted after the adrenaline ceased to coarse through her body.

Kanoko gradually stood, keeping her hand on the bed for support. She winced at the pain running through her body as she stretched.

" _That Lee kid certainly can hit. I'm going to be feeling this for some time._ " Kanoko looked around the room, one more time, to make sure she didn't miss something or leave anything behind. Determining that not to be the case, she opened the door to hear faint cheering.

Kanoko made her way up the stairs to the stands and looked down past the crowd. She could see Sasuke's team and the team from the Sound fighting. Walking carefully down the steps, she made it to the railing to get a better view.

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"It's no use. You can evade our hits all you like, but you can't avoid the sound!" The largest one of the team, Dosu, told Sasuke with a wicked crackle.

Sasuke jumped back to Hinata's position, panting slightly while holding one of his ears. It was bleeding slightly. He looked over to Hinata. She was hunched over, holding her stomach. She had taken a frontal impact from the other male: Zaku, but not before getting a few hits in herself and limiting his chakra.

Sasuke's eyes wandered the battle field. On the other side were Kiba and Akamaru fighting the female: Kin.

"Fang over fang!" Kiba yelled, aiming another attack at the sound nin – one she barely escaped from.

Sasuke quickly turned his attention back to his opponent, jumping out of the way with Hinata and barely avoiding another attack. He winced as the sound of the attack boomed in his ear, causing further pain.

Both of them hit the ground before running back to create some distance.

Sasuke growled, "I'm tired of running away…" Hinata nodded to her teammate, in agreement, before moving her gaze to Kiba. Sasuke followed her gaze before muttering lowly, "He's taking too long. If he doesn't end it soon, I'm going to motivate him with a fire jutsu."

Hinata giggled quietly at her teammate's impatience.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?! KICK THEIR ASSES!"

Hinata's head jerked up to see a yelling Naruto, leaning far over the railing. Sasuke gave him an annoyed look before muttering, "I hope he falls and breaks his head." Hinata quickly gave Sasuke a dirty look, "Sasuke!"

Sasuke just huffed before loudly telling his dog-like teammate, "Even the dobe thinks you're taking too long. And I don't like wasting my time."

"Oh! And you think I do?!" Kiba growled at him annoyed as he jumped over to them. Sasuke looked over and saw the kunoichi on the ground – out for the count.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow before smirking at Kiba, "Took you long enough."

Kiba grumbled, "Well sorry that not all of us are prodigy ninjas from freaky eyed clans…"

Even though it was meant as insult, Sasuke still took it as a compliment as he stepped forward, Sharingan activating, "Let's go Hinata."

Hinata just nodded, activating her Byakugan and taking a Hyuuga stance not too far behind.

"Let's go find a nice spot over here boy." Kiba told his dog as they made themselves a little recliner in the sand.

Dosu and Zaku jumped in front of Sasuke and Hinata, "So you think just because your teammate took out ours that you're automatically going to win? I think we've more than proven too much for the two of you." Dosu said slowly with a smirk.

Sasuke smirked in return, "Oh that? We were just playing around, waiting for our teammate to showcase his skills." Sasuke heard a small, "…his fucking amazing skills…" from behind before continuing, "You haven't seen even the fraction of our power yet."

And with that Sasuke starting running forward and forming hand signs, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Fire flew from Sasuke's mouth in the form of a flower before revealing to be shuriken. Zaku and Dosu dodge out of the way.

"That the best you got?! Try this!" Zaku roared before sticking his hands out, "Super Sonic Sp-" He didn't get to finish when he felt pain coursing through his back.

"Gentle Fist!" Hinata spoke loudly, snapping Zaku in the back several times – blocking his chakra points.

"How?! When did she?!" Dosu exclaimed before being kicked hard in the stomach and smashing into the wall behind with a crack.

Dosu groaned as he fell, looking up at the shadow above.

"Your skills are interesting, but worthless if you opponent's too fast for you." Sasuke said before knocking him out with a quick jab to the neck.

"TEAM DOSU IS NO LONGER ABLE TO FIGHT! THE MATCH GOES TO TEAM KURENAI!" The proctor yelled to the crowd.

Naruto jumped over the wall before running up to Team Kurenai with a large grin on his face, "THAT WAS AWESOME! What was that earlier?! Huh?! You guys were so fast too! I didn't know you were that fast Hinata!" Naruto shouted the last part while getting close to Hinata's face.

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She went beat red.

.

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Before fainting.

"Hinata?!"

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Kanoko watched with a bored look. She thought the Sound team would be fairly challenging, due to their association with Orochimaru, but was unimpressed by their efforts.

" _If this is the standard for all of Orochimaru's subordinates, perhaps I have worried about this threat unnecessarily… Or such a performance could be intentional…_ " Kanoko stared ahead, not watching anything particularly.

Kanoko's focus dissipated as she felt a familiar presence moved to her side slowly. She kept her gaze ahead as she heard him speak, "…This is going to be such a drag… Naruto alone is going to give me a headache." Shikamaru yawned loudly before continuing, " **And** I have fight you…"

Kanoko didn't respond to his whining – choosing instead to stare ahead while his head focused on the sky above.

Her brother sighed and dropped his shoulders, "I wish I was a cloud…"

Kanoko smirked, closing her eyes and shaking her head, "You would."

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The jounin sensei watched as Shikamaru and Kanoko finally made their way to the center of the arena to join their teams. Shikamaru walked with Kanoko, hand on her shoulder, to her team before moving over to his own.

Asuma assessed the group carefully, " _Ino was a stand out among the rookie shinobi_." He looked over to Sakura, " _More impressive than Sakura_." His gazed moved to Kanoko, " _But not even in the same league as Kanoko._ "

He sat forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped in front of his face, " _I have no doubt that Shikamaru already has 100 moves running through his mind._ " His eyes finally rested on Choji, " _And Choji will follow Shikamaru's lead to the tee._ "

Asuma leaned back and sighed.

"Worried they'll lose, Asuma?" He heard Kakashi mock him. He closed his eyes in irritation before opening them with a smirk, "Your kids are good Kakashi, but they're tired." He blew out some smoke from his cigarette, "And your team isn't as solid in their teamwork as mine is. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji were practically trained from birth to fight alongside each other."

Kurenai cut in, "That may be so, but Kanoko is a Nara too. There's no doubt that she knows not only their clan abilities, but how they use them as a team."

Jiraiya leaned back in his seat, "Hmm. They're the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho?"

Asuma nodded, "Yes, and your right. Kanoko's presence does prevent them from using their usual tactics, but…" Asuma's gaze moved to Shikamaru's relaxed and bored form, "The kid… The way in which he thinks…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his fellow jounin before moving them back to the event before him. Kakashi's eye narrowed before he pulled up his headband and activated his Sharingan. His eyes widening in shock, he thought, " _But…How…?_ "

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Kanoko looked up at the opening in the dome. It was small, barely showing any sky, and not a single cloud was seen. She thought of the clouds back home and wondered, not for the first time, what her brother's fascination in it was.

Kanoko sighed, stretching an arm to massage her back before grumbling lowly at the pain.

"I guess he did a number on you, huh?" Her brother said lazily, walking up to her slowly while referring to her earlier fight.

Kanoko shrugged, not interested in answering the obvious question. Shikamaru sighed loudly at his sister before dropping down into a sitting position. Kanoko raised an eyebrow at him. He responded by indicating she join him with a wave of his hand.

Kanoko stared expressionless at him until conceding and sitting in front of her brother, with her back to him. She winced slightly as he started working out the nerves in her back.

Kanoko was known for training past her limits and damaging her body. Their mother was normally the one to alleviate some of the pain, but Yoshino taught Shikamaru when he asked – a question that he posed over dinner, causing her father to choke on some rice and Kanoko to quickly form a seal and yell "kai".

Kanoko relaxed finally, eyes wandering to the sky again as her brother continue to work out the kinks in her back. She slowly closed them and asked her brother, "What's so great about being a cloud?"

Her brother stopped his movements. Kanoko turned slowly around with an eyebrow raised. Shikamaru fell backwards onto his back to stare at the large blue sky above them.

Shikamaru sighed lightly before explaining, "They have no obligations, no expectations. They simply float along – going only where the wind takes them."

Kanoko looked up at the sky, the clouds were large and white, moving slowly with the light breeze in the air.

Feeling tired, Kanoko laid down next to her brother, "Seems like a horrible way to live."

Her brother turned his head to her, "Why's that?" He asked bored, as if he wasn't actually interested in her opinion. Kanoko knew that wasn't the case. If Shikamaru didn't want to know, then he wouldn't have asked – too much effort.

Kanoko answered plainly, keeping her eyes focused on the clouds approve, "What's the point of living if you don't get some choice in how you live it? Even if that choice is to flow with the wind… At least you were able to choose it."

Her brother was silent at her response. Instead, he chose to stare up at the sky with his sister – watching the clouds above.

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"KANOKO! KANOKOOOO!" Naruto yelled from the other side of the arena – his arms flailing in the air. Next to him was Sakura, who had her kunai out in front of her and a worried look on her face.

"It's no use. She's not going to wake up to your yelling." Ino told him confidently with a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face. Next to her was Choji, eating a few chips while he waited for Shikamaru's orders.

And Shikamaru…

He was crouch on one knee, hands out and shadow moving around him – ready to capture anyone who came close to his position. Right behind him in a sitting position was his sister.

Kanoko was sitting in the sand with her legs bent underneath her and her arms at her side. Her face was tilted down slightly, but the real shock was the look in her eyes: Blank and pupiless.

Shikamaru yawned slightly before turning to his opponents, "Kanoko is stuck in a genjutsu of her own creation." The Nara paused for effect, "And you know Kanoko and her seals – she's not getting out of this one." He finished, indicating to the paper seal attached to her back.

Naruto growled as Ino's smirk grew, "THAT'S IT!" Naruto made a hand sign before calling out, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" About fifty Narutos appeared before rushing Team Asuma.

"Choji." Shikamaru said plainly as Ino took out several kunai with explosives. Choji quickly responded to his friend, "Expansion Jutsu!" Choji inflated into a large round ball before yelling again, "Human Bolder!"

Choji quickly spun towards the multiple Narutos, like a bolder falling down a hill, and making many of them pop.

"HYA!" Ino bellowed, throwing the explosive kunai at the remaining Narutos.

"HA! You can't get me!" Naruto cheered, getting past both Ino and Choji to Kanoko's position.

"Ack! Wha… What the hell?!" Naruto exclaimed, confused about his inability to move his body.

"Naruto! You idiot! Shikamaru can use the same jutsu as Kanoko! The Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Sakura roared from a safe distance.

Shikamaru smirked, "That's two down." His eyes shifted to Sakura, "It's just you now. I suggest giving up."

Sakura stepped back in apprehension – unsure what to do.

"DON'T COUNT ME OUT YET!" Naruto shouted, squirming in place. He then closed his eyes to focus in, like in his match with Neji, " _Come on you stupid fox!_ " Naruto continued to push at his inner chakra to break Shikamaru's hold.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. He wasn't about to make the same mistakes as Neji and he was running out of chakra anyways. He shot Ino and look before lining up her fingers into an oval and aiming her at Naruto.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed, jumping forward to him.

Naruto's eye snapped open from his concentrated state to widen in fear at Ino.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

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 _ **In the Stands**_

Shikaku raised an eyebrow before turning to his lifelong friend and teammate, "Inoichi. Do you think your daughter will have a problem with **it**?"

Inoichi quickly shook his head, "If she was using a more advance jutsu – yes. But I haven't taught her that one yet. The jutsu she currently using allows her to take over a person's body, not delve into their mind." Inoichi paused, placing a hand on his chin, "The body belongs exclusively to Naruto. Naruto could, if his spiritual power was great enough, seek out Ino and push her from his body. In the same manner, Naruto can seek **it** out and communicate with **it** because **it** is also invading his body – not willingly, but the same applies to both. Since neither Ino nor **it** are owners of Naruto's body, they can't seek each other out."

Shikaku nodded while relaxing further in his seat.

Choza leaned over in his seat to speak at Shikaku, "Honestly, I'm more curious about your children. Just what are you teaching them? Using fuinjutsu like that… You better up your game or your own kids are going to surpass you before they hit their teens!" Choza finished his sentence with a loud bark of a laugh.

Inoichi smirked at his friend as Shikaku slid further down in his seat, eyes shifted away and mumbling something about "troublesome children".

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 _ **Back in the Arena**_

Naruto's body went slack for a moment, while Ino's dropped next to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru released his jutsu when "Naruto" started giggling.

Sakura skidded to a halt, a few feet away from Naruto with dread in her eyes, " _Not only do they have Kanoko out of the battle, but Naruto too now?! Damnit Naruto!_ "

"Just give up Sakura. It's three against one now and you never had any particular talent. Just give up before you get hurt." _Naruto_ said, walking slowly towards Sakura.

Sakura jumped back several feet with her kunai out in front for defense. Her eyes focused and ready for Ino's first move.

.

Shikamaru turned his head to Ino, in Naruto's body and quietly asked her, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Ino didn't respond to her teammate, her gaze instead focused on Sakura, " _No. I'm not sure. Sakura is my friend and I don't want to fight her – not in this way._ " _Naruto_ closed his eyes, _"But I can't let my teammates down just because of my feelings._ "

Coming to that conclusion, _Naruto_ dashed forward, aiming a kick at Sakura. Sakura deflected, jumping farther back, but not before activating the explosive tags she left in her place. _Naruto_ jumped back, receiving some of the blow back when his eyes shifted to the incoming kunai.

Catching them, he tossed them back to Sakura, who dodged and advanced quickly on him, catching him in the shoulder with a punch.

Choji groaned next to Shikamaru, "I knew it…" Shikamaru sighed as well, "Ino's going easy on her." Shikamaru watched blandly, thinking about a plan C, before Ino loses this fight. His eyes went wide when he saw _Naruto's_ fist turn into an open palm – slapping Sakura, causing them both to stare at each other in shock.

Shikamaru's eye went back to normal as her turned his head to look at his sister. He asked her one day why Sakura and Ino were – well, what they were: Best friends who hated each other's guts. Kanoko had raised an eyebrow, as she normally does, at him before looking up in thought. She told him that she would summarize it as girl stuff, but told him if he was truly interested, she would have to start from the beginning…

 _Kanoko's Story of Ino and Sakura_

" _Kunoichi have a special role to play. They must not only learn ninjutsu, but a wide array of knowledge in refinement as women." The academy instructor told the class, as they sat outside in a circle around her. Kanoko was focusing on the instructor's curly and afro-like hair, hoping her gaze would ignite it into flames – preventing the class from continuing._

" _I don't want to learn the_ _ **finer**_ _points of being a woman. I was just fine, stomping around as a man." Kanoko thought, dark energy flowing off of her._

" _Now, today's lesson is flower arrangement! Now go gather some flowers." The instructor called to her class._

" _There is no way that Senju Tobirama is going to pick a flower. I will fail this fucking class before that happens." Kanoko thought, quickly making her escape to the trees. She stopped on one tree and sat down on the branch, thinking, "Well, I can't go home. Yoshino knows I'm in class. She'll just yell at me for skipping." Kanoko decided to lazy around in the tree instead._

 _Kanoko watched as the pink haired girl who she had scared away earlier ran over to the Yamanaka._

" _Ino! Wait up!" She yelled before falling face first._

 _Ino raised an eyebrow before smiling and teasing her friend, "You're such a klutz Sakura."_

 _Both of them giggled before running off to find flowers to pick._

 _Kanoko loosely watched the kunoichi below her pick flowers before her gaze caught onto Sakura and Ino again. Both of them were sitting down and giggling quietly._

 _Kanoko raised an eyebrow, leaning forward a bit to watch as a group of girls approached the two. It looked they were insulting Sakura before Ino threw flowers at them. Kanoko's eyebrows raised considerably, "Flowers… As a weapon? Hmmm. Now I want to try…" Kanoko thought._

 _The main instigator fell back after being hit with flowers (Kanoko was still very confused by this), before getting up and yelling at Ino. Ino must have freaked them out, because they suddenly ran away screaming._

 _Kanoko leaped over a few trees to get closer – now interested in the drama._

" _I forgot to mention that only the root is poisonous!" Ino laughed._

 _Sakura stared at Ino, happy, until she turned her gaze to the flower – her face darkening._

 _Ino noticed her friend's expression and asked what was wrong._

 _Kanoko started tuning them out when they started talking about flowers again. As she left, she heard Ino tell Sakura that she didn't see her as a flower, but as a bud – almost ready to bloom._

Shikamaru's attention was ripped from his thoughts as he heard Sakura growl and yell to Ino, "Listen up Ino. I'm not going to fight you over Sasuke!"

 _Naruto's_ face contorted into anger, "What did you say?!"

Sakura was firm in her decision, "I'm not the weak needy girl I used to be. You're not even on my radar! You're not even Sasuke's type, INO-PIG!"

 _Naruto's_ fists clenched tightly, "SAKURA! You better watch your step! Do you have any idea who you're mouthing off to?!" Ino paused before roaring out, "Don't press your luck with me you little billboard brow!"

Sakura's gaze just remained on Ino in Naruto's body, " _Ino. I tried to live my life on what you said to me. That if I worked hard enough, I would become that flower – no longer a bud, always waiting, but never blooming. So I set my sights on you, because I wanted to be like you from the start._ "

Sakura's eyes shifted down slight, smiling softly, " _You set an example for me – a goal for me to strive towards. It because of that, that I made it this far and why I'm here today._ "

Her eyes focused ahead with a stern expression, " _But now, I don't want you to hold back… And it's time I surpassed you._ "

Sakura took her headband off of her head and tied it around her forehead.

 _Naruto_ stood in silence for a moment, head slightly down before chuckling without joy and replying coldly, "I understand. **Sakura**."

Both of them quickly took off towards each other – meeting fists with a loud, "BAM". Jumping back, Sakura quickly went through hand signs, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

 _Naruto_ jumped back, barely dodging the fire. Sakura skidded back yelling, "I'm not some little weakling anymore! If you play with fire, you're going to get burned!"

Sakura dashed toward _Naruto_ , and met him with another punch. _Naruto_ winced at Sakura's punch, as it sent him back. Before hitting the ground, he shot out shuriken at Sakura, who quickly deflected it with some of her own.

" _When did she get this strong?!_ " Ino thought in shock, going in for another hit. Both of them flew back as their punches landed.

Shikamaru tsk'ed went her saw a bruise form on Ino's face, " _She's not going to be happy about that…_ "

Sakura fell back on her feet after another exchange of blows with _Naruto_. She panted heavily as her eyes shifted past _Naruto_ to Ino's uninjured teammates, " _I'm losing chakra._ " Her gaze moved back to an equally panting _Naruto_ , " _But so is she. She may have Naruto's body, but he took a beating from Neji earlier and this fight has only put more strain on his body._ "

Sakura took a defensive position, planning, " _I can win against Ino, but I'll be taking Naruto out in the process. After that, there is no way I'll have enough energy left to face Shikamaru and Choji._ "

"HYA!" _Naruto_ yelled, pushing out chakra and punching Sakura. Sakura was able to push out her own chakra, and moved out of the way in time. She swiveled her body around, extending her leg out for a roundhouse kick to _Naruto_ _–_ sending him back.

Sakura's eyes flickered to the body behind Shikamaru, " _I need Kanoko…_ " Sakura's eyes quickly jerked back to _Naruto_ as he threw explosive tags her way. Sakura evade, and both of them took defensive positions across from each other.

"You're getting slower, Ino." Sakura taunted with a cold voice.

 _Naruto_ panted hard, "It's… this body… Your teammate is weaker than I thought…"

Sakura's teeth gritted, before she opened her mouth to defend him, when a light came on in her head. Instead, she scoffed, "You're the idiot that took over **Naruto's** body, when Kanoko's was just as easy to grab."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, concerned about where this conversation was going.

 _Naruto_ stood up straighter, before falling to a knee from the pain. Sakura continue to egg on Ino, "Face it! You were too scared to take over Kanoko's body, so you took Naruto's! And now you can't even beat me with Naruto's bruised and beaten body! Maybe you should have spent your time training, instead of perfecting your looks!"

 _Naruto_ 's fists tightened so much that they drew blood, "Scared…? I'll SHOW YOU! RELEASE!"

Naruto's body fell roughly to the ground – completely wiped – as Ino's moved again. Ino quickly formed her hand sign, panting, and pointed at Kanoko.

"NO! INO!" Shikamaru bellowed at his teammate, moving to stop her.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Ino shouted, mind going into Kanoko's.

.

.

.

 _Kanoko_ slowly took to her feet, the paper seal on her back slowly floating to the ground. Kanoko smirked widely as Sakura's eyes went wide. _Kanoko_ chuckled before saying, "What about you Sa-ku-ra? Scared now- ACK!"

 _Kanoko_ quickly dropped to the ground, holding her head in pain.

In her head, Ino heard a man with a low voice loudly bark out, " **Insolent child! Remove your spirit from my body immediately before I break it in half!** "

Ino looked behind her, in Kanoko's head, and saw a tall man in an impressive suit of armor. He stood straight with an overwhelming presence. His face was stern and in a frown, with a red line on each cheek and on his chin. Last was his blinding white hair that stuck up in all directions.

.

His presence was deafening.

.

He approached her, and looked down at her in disgust, " **I will not repeat myself, child.** "

With uncontainable fear, she released her jutsu with a scream, "RELEASE!"

Ino's soul traveled back to her body, but she collapsed soon after the experience.

Kanoko's eyes focused as Shikamaru quickly ran through hand signs to trap his sister. Kanoko adjusted quickly and jumped away from her brother.

Choji took a defensive position next to Shikamaru, keeping an eye on Sakura as well.

Kanoko watched Sakura make her way to Naruto, who was on the ground – passed out, before turning them coldly to her brother and his teammate.

"I thought we had an agreement…" Kanoko said slowly, with uncontrollable anger.

Shikamaru shook slightly, with fearful eyes. He's only seen his sister this angry twice, and both times he has promised himself never again.

Shikamaru stumbled out, "I… Ino… She…"

Kanoko closed her eyes, calming herself, " _A shinobi must suppress their emotion. Suppress._ " Kanoko opened her eyes again, and with a long exhale, felt her body relax. Her eyes shifted to Ino's passed out form, " _I will have to deal with that later._ "

Kanoko hand through a series of hand signs and flickered to Sakura's and Naruto's position.

"You fought hard." Kanoko told Sakura plainly, while looking at her injuries. Sakura nodded, smiling slightly, "I wasn't going to let you guys down or lose to Ino!"

Kanoko nodded, before shift her eyes to Naruto, " _He's out cold._ "

Moving her gaze back to her opponents, she told Sakura, "You did well. Leave this to me and protect Naruto."

Sakura nodded, thankful for the break.

Kanoko slowly approached the two members left of Team Asuma, "Forfeit now. I'm tired and have bigger concerns then an overweight weakling and a slothful coward who's less clever than he believes he is."

Choji's face turned angry at being called overweight, while Shikamaru became irrigated, "This clever-less coward was able to keep you in a genjutsu for half the battle, so I wouldn't act so high and mighty."

Kanoko's eyes narrowed, "That's right. I still have yet to address the fact that you stole something that belonged to me." She pulled out her sword roughly, "Allow me to correct such behavior."

In a blink of an eye, she was above Shikamaru's and Choji's position and was bringing her sword down on her brother's head. "Expansion Jutsu!" Choji yelled, grabbing the sword and preventing it from hitting Shikamaru.

Shikamaru jumped back to get a better spot for an attack before Kanoko brought her chakra powered foot down on Choji's arm – causing him to release his hold. She blinked out of sight again and appeared behind Shikamaru, kicking him in the back and sending him forward and into Choji.

"GYAHH!" The duo shouted in pain upon impact.

Kanoko extended a foot out, to continue the brutal attack when excruciating pain shot through her body. One of her eyes snapped shut at the pain and she hissed out loud, " _My body is still recovering and isn't ready for this kind of battle._ "

Her eyes shifted to Ino's prone body.

Shikamaru caught his sister's look and ran to Ino.

Kanoko got there first, her sword pointing down towards Ino's defenseless figure, "Forfeit." She told him plainly.

Shikamaru panted, before shrugging with a smirk, "Fine. You got us…"

*POOF* Shikamaru turned into a smiling Choji.

" _Shit!_ " Kanoko quickly turned her head around to the chakra signature behind her, but froze in mid motion, "When did you…?!"

Shikamaru smirked, "I knew the moment that Ino aimed for your body that I was going to need a plan F. So I quickly had Choji pose as me while you were distracted getting Ino out of your body."

Kanoko growled, stuck with half her body twisted towards her brother, "What now?"

Shikamaru smirked before shrugging. With zero energy, he slowly raised his hand.

.

.

.

"Team Asuma forfeits."

.

"WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHATT?!" The crowd roared in equal parts disbelief and anger.

Even Sakura was confused, "But why? You had Kanoko trapped and I'm still tired from fighting Ino…"

Shikamaru just shrugged, releasing the jutsu and rubbing his shoulder, "I was running out of chakra, Ino is down for the count, and it would have been unfair to Choji to expect him to face my sister. The Nara women are deadly when angry."

The cracking of knuckles was heard, "Instead, you decide to embarrass me by admitting defeat right after I fell for your trap – giving me no opportunity to reclaim my pride…" Kanoko chuckled darkly, "Yes. The Nara women are **quite** deadly when mad – and I am **livid**."

Shikamaru sweat-dropped with no small amount of fear as he held up his hands in peace to his sister.

"HEY RUNT!" The proctor shouted, "Commit murder on your own time! NOW GET OFF THE FIELD!"

Kanoko shrugged before sending Shikamaru a dark and promising look. She then jumped over to Sakura and helped her pick up Naruto. Choji and Shikamaru did the same with Ino.

They slowly climbed the stairs and dropped off their teammates onto the make-shift medical beds.

"Gyah. Naruto is heavy. He needs to lighten up on the ramen." Sakura sighed out, glaring lightly at Naruto's form.

Shikamaru and Choji quickly made their way out to find their sensei – Shikamaru moving quicker than normal to evade his sister.

Sakura looked back at Kanoko, "Are you really going to get back at him?"

Kanoko shrugged, "No… But it's fun to watch him sweat." Kanoko finished with a smirk.

Sakura laughed before walking towards the door, she looked back when Kanoko didn't follow, "You coming?"

Kanoko shook her head, "I'll be there in a moment. I just want to grab something. My injuries from Lee need a little attention. You go on ahead and tell Kakashi-sensei that Naruto and I will be up there soon."

Sakura nodded before closing the door behind her.

Now alone in the room, Kanoko approached Ino's body.

" _I haven't attempted this in a long time… But I don't have a choice… I need those memories sealed for good._ " Kanoko thought, before her hand to the back of Ino's head. With her other hand in a hand sign, she closed her eyes and focused.

She heard Ino cry out in pain as the seal formed, pulling in the memory and sealing it tight from her grasp. The light blue light from the seal's pattern fade from her upper neck before disappearing completely.

" _Only a seal master is going to be able to remove that now…_ " Kanoko thought, moving away from Ino and over to Naruto. She looked down at him, " _He really should sleep and gather his strength._ " Kanoko paused, " _But I fear the final act will occur soon. And if I have learned anything, it's that Naruto pulls danger to him like a magnet._ "

Kanoko placed her hand over his stomach, " _He needs to wake up to defend himself._ " And with that, she pushed out chakra into his stomach, disrupting the flow and waking him up roughly.

"*Cough* *Cough* Uggg. Kanoko?" Naruto asked, his eyes focusing on her above him.

Kanoko stared expressionless at him, "We won our fight against Team Asuma. Well, Sakura did."

Naruto sat up quickly, "What?! Sakura?! But how?! And how did you get out of that genjutsu?!"

Kanoko shook her head at Naruto, "Ask Sakura. I was out for most of the fight. She should have found Kakashi-sensei by now."

Naruto quickly jumped out of bed to the door, screaming something along the lines of, "Sakura-chan".

Kanoko just stared ahead, with no real care before walking slowly out the door as well.

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Naruto looked out at the crowd below, looking for a familiar patch of silver or pink hair.

" _There!_ " Naruto thought, catching his friends in the crowd and running to them.

"Naruto!" Choji said, causing everyone to turn their heads. Naruto looked at his white haired teacher, "Ero-sanin? What are you doing here?" Naruto took a thinking pose before a grin spread across his face, "You came here to watch my amazing ninja skills! I was awesome! Wasn't I?!"

Naruto got close to Jiraiya's face, as the sage just sweat-dropped, "I wouldn't know. I got here when your teammate was fighting the kid with the bowl haircut."

Naruto thought for a second, "Oh! Kanoko's fight with Lee… WAIT?! You missed my match!"

Jiraiya barked out a laugh, "Yep! And then you were completely useless in your next match."

Naruto's mouth dropped open as tears started to form, "….I hate all of you…."

Everyone chuckled at Naruto's misfortune before turning to the match that was just beginning.

"THE MATCH BETWEEN TEAM KURENAI OF THE LEAF AND TEAM BAKI OF THE SAND BEGINS… NOW!" The proctor yelled jumping back.

Sasuke and Kiba ran forward, both with attacks aimed. The kunoichi, Temari, and the puppet user, Kankuro, met them at the center with a large boom, causing sand to fly back.

Hinata stayed behind to observe the fight with her Byakugan and the red head, Gaara, didn't move an inch.

"This should be interesting… After the last match that team partook in…" Kakashi said pensively, with a hand on his chin and Sharingan open.

Naruto looked up at his sensei, "What do you mean?" Sakura looked confused as well.

Kakashi sighed, "That's right. You guys were busy taking Kanoko to the medical wing after Naruto knocked her out." Sakura shot a quick glare at Naruto, who just looked sheepish. Kakashi continued, "The match was quick, but the Sand team… The red haired boy in the center there… He killed the team from the Rain in seconds with his sand." Kakashi paused, "He incased them in sand and squeezed until the pressure killed them."

Sakura's eyes went wide in horror, before she moving them to Shikamaru and Choji, who nodded – having seen it themselves.

Naruto's eyes widened as well, before yelling, "THEN YOU HAVE TO STOP THE MATCH!" His face turned to Kurenai, "You're just going to let them die?!"

Asuma sighed as Kurenai answered, "It's up to them, to decide to fight. They saw the match and they know the risks." Kurenai turned to Naruto, "Are you telling me, that if it was you and your team, that you would just quit? Forfeit before you began?"

Naruto looked to the ground, not having a good response. He knew he would fight – maybe find a way to prevent Sakura from getting hurt – but he would never back down. It wasn't who he was.

"Wow." Naruto heard Shikamaru mutter. Curious, Naruto moved his gaze to the arena. Lightening was sparking around Sasuke – specifically his hand.

"What kind of jutsu is that?!" Naruto exclaimed, looking to Kakashi-sensei.

Kakashi kept his gaze ahead, but answered, "Chidori."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his sensei before muttering, "It feels like you cheated on me…"

Kakashi jerk his face to Naruto with shock, "What…?! No! Don't say things like that…"

Asuma laughed loudly at Kakashi's embarrassment and even Kurenai was giggling.

"Such youthful spirit! Naruto! I would be more than happy to teach you awesome and amazing jutsus that your sensei couldn't even dream of learning!" Gai bellowed, walking down the steps to join the other sensei and students.

"Oh! Gai-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, looking up, "How's your team?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

Gai put his hands on his hips and grinned, "Oh, they're a little sore, but they have the fire of youth coursing through them! They will be up and training until the sun sets in no time! Hahaha!"

Everyone sweat-dropped at him, before turning back to the match when they heard a scream.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'M BLEEDING!"

In the arena, was Sasuke, jumping back after making a direct hit to Gaara, who previously believed he was protected by the sand incased around him. Temari and Kankuro both stared with wide and fearful eyes – never having heard Gaara cry in such a way before.

Kiba was on the ground, having been injured by one of Kankuro's puppets and Hinata was next to him, in a defensive position.

Gaara stumbled out of the sand encasement. Half of his face looked deformed – like it was transforming into something else. On the back of his neck were black marks extending out and glowing slightly.

Kakashi's eyes widened, before turning to Jiraiya, who had a solemn look on his face, "Jiraiya-sannin. On the back of that boy's neck… Do you see it?"

Jiraiya nodded, standing up, "A curse seal, most likely. Knowing **him**." And with that, he teleported away.

Sakura had her hands close to her face, worried for Sasuke when she saw a feather float in front of her face, " _A feather._ " Just as she thought it, her eyes started drifting close. Before they closed, her eyes snapped open, " _A genjutsu!_ " Sakura formed a hand seal and yelled, "Kai!"

She looked around her to find everyone around her asleep in their chairs. Sakura then turned her gaze to the jounin sensei, only to find them gone.

"Ack!" Sakura squealed when a kunai aimed her way. Thankfully her sensei, Kakashi, deflected it in time.

"Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, "What's going on?!" Kakashi deflected a few more attacks, before running after another enemy. Gai ran over to Sakura, "The Chunin Exams are under attack and it looks like the Leaf are one of the main targets." Gai gruffed as he knocked another ninja out.

Sakura looked at the headband of the fallen ninja, "The Sand?! But why would they start an attack in their own village?!"

Kakashi appeared in front of Sakura, "I don't recognize any of these shinobi. It's possible they are impersonating as Sand nin, or the Sand could truly be involved. Don't trust them, either way."

Sakura looked back at her sensei, "If they are impersonating as Sand nin, who are they?"

Gai answered this time, "The Sound. Orochimaru's men."

Sakura's eyes went wide, before running to the railing, to find Sasuke. He was chasing after the Sand team, who was fleeing with Gaara. Gaara was thrashing around in pain as the markings on his back continued to grow. Hinata stayed behind with Kiba – as he was too injured to defend himself.

"We have to go after Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, turning back to her fighting sensei.

Kakashi nodded, "Sakura. Wake up Naruto and Shikamaru. I have a mission for you."

Sakura ran over to them, as instructed, before turning around, "What about Kanoko?! She was injured…" Sakura looked down in worry. " _This is real… It's not an exam or training…_ "

Kakashi answered simply, "She's not here, and we can't afford to waste time. Sakura, wake Naruto and Shikamaru up now!"

Sakura nodded, a little shaken by her sensei's tone. She shook Naruto awake after forming the proper hand signs, "…ah.. ramen… come back…!" Sakura sweat-dropped before shoving him rougher and whispering, "Naruto! Get up! We have a mission!"

"What?! Mission?!" Naruto shot up quickly.

Sakura just sighed before moving to Shikamaru.

.

Sakura glared when she saw his eye twitched, "Are you serious… You could die, just laying here…"

Still no response by Shikamaru.

"Here, let me try." A voice told Sakura. She looked back surprised to see… nothing.

"Down here." Sakura looked down…

To see a talking pug…

" _Well… I've officially gone insane…_ " Sakura thought, staring at the pug as he walked over to Shikamaru.

And bit his leg.

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.

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"GYAHHHH!" Shikamaru yelled, trying to shake the dog off of his leg.

"What the hell's your problem?! We have a real situation here!" Sakura chastised him.

Shikamaru sighed, "Give me a break… I didn't want to get involved…"

"Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru." Kakashi spoke firmly. All three turned to him, "Your mission is to follow Sasuke and help him track down the Sand team. The red head one, Gaara, may have the same curse seal as Sasuke was once afflicted with. You will undoubtable have to fight Sound and possibly Sand ninjas as well." Kakashi paused to get in a few hits to various ninjas, "You have no choice, but to accept this mission, with these terms. Shikamaru, you're the unit leader."

Shikamaru sat up straight, "If this Gaara has the same curse seal as Sasuke… We'll need my sister."

Kakashi nodded, "I agree, but you don't have time to find her. Sasuke needs back up."

Naruto stood, "We need to go help Sasuke, but how are we supposed to find him?!" Sakura looked at Naruto in shock – he actually asked a really good question.

"That's what I'm here for." The pug answered. Kakashi nodded, "Pakkun here will track Sasuke." Gai ran in front of him to grab a ninja running in for an attack, "Thanks Gai."

Gai gave him a thumbs up, "No problem!"

Kakashi turned to them once more, "Now GO!"

Shikamaru slowly stood up, "It's a drag… But it's our mission, so let's get going… Dog… Pakkun… Have you caught Sasuke's scent?"

Pakkun gruffed, "Hai." He then took off, with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura following after him.

00000000000000000000000000000000

 _ **Elsewhere**_

Kanoko was running through the hallways and stands, fighting ninja that crossed her. Her hair was starting to escape her bun, and her sword and clothes were bloody.

" _Shit! I can't even tell who the enemy is and whose not!_ " Kanoko thought, cursing as she saw Sand ninja fighting both Sound ninja and Sand ninja. The Leaf ninjas were definitely the targets. Kanoko was pushing out her chakra, searching for those she knew nearby. She wasn't sure who she wanted to move towards. Her family, her friends, and her former student were all at opposite ends of the building.

" _I'll find Kakashi… He should have orders for me at the very least._ " Kanoko skidded to a halt, when she felt a familiar presence coming for a Sand ANBU Black Ops.

She stopped in front of him, sword ready, "You. You're a Leaf nin. You'll die by my sword for your betrayal." Kanoko's eyes narrowed aggressively. There wasn't anything more she hated then traitors to the Leaf.

"Wow. You are as good as they say. To pick up on my chakra signature like that, even as I try to conceal it." The ninja taunted her, speaking whimsy. "Unfortunately, I don't have time. I'm on a rather strict schedule, you see."

Kanoko rushed forward, regardless. The ninja blocked her attack with an oddly shaped kunai. She raced through hand signs, "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!" Senbon shot out at him. He winced as he took a hit to the stomach, but evaded the rest. He jumped, trying to flicker away, but Kanoko was quick to wrap a ninja wire around his wrist, pulling him back.

With a poof, he did a body switch with a civilian. Kanoko moved quickly to catch the civilian and jumped out to grab him again, as he tried to escape. A ninja flew towards her and she had to deviate from her plan, and instead, ran her sword through the random ninja's chest.

Pulling her sword out, she pushed out her chakra to chase the traitor down, " _There!_ " Kanoko thought, and moved to follow him.

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"Would you really start a war with the Leaf… In your own backyard, Kazekage-sama?" The Third Hokage drawled out.

The Hokage and the Kazekage were standing on top of the arena, facing each other. Earlier, the Kazekage made a move to grab the Hokage, but Jiraiya, who was moving to tell the Hokage about the curse seal on the Sand's Jinchuriki, saw the Kazekage move aggressively towards his sensei. He was able to prevent the attack, and the powerful men decided to move their match to the outside of the arena.

The _Kazekage_ chuckled, "Perhaps the fear of death makes one more cowardly with age… Sarutobi-sensei."

Jiraiya quickly took a more aggressive stance, "YOU!" He bellowed, making a move to run forward, but being stopped by his sensei, "Jiraiya. Wait."

Jiraiya looked at him, confused, "But sensei…"

"I know." He responded simply, not removing his eyes from his former student.

The ANBU brought for the Hokage's protection, finally made their way passed the Sound and Sand ninja, and leaped over to help.

Dashing in front of them were four teenaged ninjas from the sound. All four spread out around the three powerful ninjas, to create four corners.

"Finally… My time." One of them said with a smirk, multiple hands resting on his hip.

"We were all waiting for this." Another one responded.

"Do it!" The _Kazekage_ ordered.

All four ninjas took a stance and formed a hand sign, "Ninja Art: Four Flames Formation!" They chorused as a purple barrier formed around them – incasing the three ninja inside.

The _Kazekage_ chuckled while he gazed at the barrier with joy and continued with his earlier conversation, "We had intended to capture Sasuke, while Gaara was causing trouble, but that didn't work out…"

The Hokage stared back, "Then that was your plan…"

The _Kazekage_ chuckled again, looking around at the barrier, "You may have your favorite student with you, but… You've lost."

Jiraiya growled, getting ready to leap when he heard his sensei say, "Nothing is decided yet. I taught you that years ago, Orochimaru."

The _Kazekage_ laughed as he pulled down his "face" and ripping off his robe, revealing his true identity.

"You haven't changed at all, Orochimaru." Jiraiya stated solemnly, eyes trained on his former teammate, "You and Tsunade… Always obsessed with youth… Though I can't say your looks have improved any... Old friend."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Ah yes. Where is the slug princess?"

Neither Jiraiya nor the Hokage answered him, instead Jiraiya watched as the Sound ninja put up additional barriers around them, "This barrier won't be easy to bring down."

"I figure we would want our… reunion… to be uninterrupted." Orochimaru told them, smirking widely.

The Hokage nodded to Jiraiya, giving him permission. Jiraiya shot ahead, "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!" Jiraiya's hair extended out and hardened to into needles, "Ninja Art: Needle Hell!" The needles from his hair shot out at Orochimaru as Jiraiya sprain towards him with a kick.

Orochimaru evaded both, but was unable to evade the Hokage's attack because of it.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb!" A large mud dragon appear and spit bullets of hardened mud at Orochimaru. "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bomb!" A large jet of fire also shot Orochimaru's way at the same time.

"AHHH!" Orochimaru screamed in pain.

Jiraiya jumped over to his sensei, "Enough Orochimaru. We don't believe it."

Orochimaru chuckled in response before jumping back to his original position, across from them, "It's time we stop playing around."

The Hokage chuckled, "I agree."

"I wondered if you foresaw this… Dying this way." Orochimaru told his sensei with a smirk on his face.

The pressure in the air suddenly got heavy from the chakra expending from the three kage-level ninjas.

Orochimaru smirked, "Reanimation Jutsu!" The ground below turned purple as if a portal just opened.

Jiraiya's and Hiruzen's eyes widened, "That jutsu!" The Hokage exclaimed.

Orochimaru continued, "First!" Out from the ground, a coffin appeared with the words "First" on it.

Jiraiya turned to the Hokage, "You don't think?! It couldn't… He couldn't!"

"Second!" Another coffin appeared from the ground, this one saying "Second".

The Hokage's eyes hardened, "We need to stop him!"

"On it!" Jiraiya yelled, forming a jutsu to seal the third portal, stopping the third coffin, labeled "Fourth" from appearing.

"Oh… Too bad… The third on failed." Orochimaru responded with little care.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen waited with narrow eyes, as the tops on the coffins fell forward.

Orochimaru laughed, "Whatever are you both going to do now?" Orochimaru's tongue extended out of his mouth to whip around in anticipation.

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Kanoko turned the corner, catching up to the traitorous ninja. She was outside the dome now and she could see a large barrier on the top of the dome. She vaguely wondered what it was.

As she shot out to attack his back, she fell forward.

*BUM BUMP*

"GYAH!" Kanoko wailed, grabbing her chest. Her whole body pounded and shook violently with each pound of her heart. "ARG!" She called out again, feeling another sensation of pain. If felt like she was being ripped in two.

She slowly stood up, her legs shaking and a hand on the side of the dome for support, " _I need to move!_ " Kanoko thought, but as she took another step forward, she felt the pain again.

*BUM BUMP*

"AHH!" She screamed, falling to the ground. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were pinpoints. " _Where is this pain coming from?!_ " She thought, looking ahead, trying to stay aware of her surroundings.

*BUM BUMP*

"KYAHHHH!" Kanoko wailed. She felt something wet flow down her nose; she struggled to lift her hand to her nose, only to discover the wet substance to be blood.

*BUM BUMP*

Kanoko fell flat onto the ground, unable to move as her eyes closed.

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Stepping out from the coffin was a man in red armor and long dark hair. He looked ahead, in a zombie like state and spoke to the Hokage, "It's been a very long time, Saru."

The Hokage responded coldly to Orochimaru, "I never thought I would have to face my brethren in this manner. What a vile trick."

Jiraiya growled, "The First Hokage: Senju Hashirama… This isn't going to be easy…"

The first coffin fell away, but the second coffin still held its prisoner. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, " _What is taking so long?! He should be out already!_ "

Jiraiya spoke quietly to his sensei, "Why do you think the other one, the Second Hokage, hasn't awaken yet."

The Third Hokage paused, "…He may not." Jiraiya looked at him confused, "What do you mean? He awoke the First just fine…"

Hiruzen's eyes just focused on the coffin.

Orochimaru jumped from behind the coffin, to take a look, also confused why the jutsu wasn't working. He got close before his eyes widened and jumping back.

A hand shot out quickly, with dark chakra pouring out.

" **HOW DARE YOU SUMMON ME IN THIS MANNER?!** " Boomed a loud and deep voice.

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he watched the impressively tall and powerful man step out.

" **HOW DARE YOU USE MY OWN JUTSU AGAINST MY COMRADES – AGAINST MY OWN STUDENT** "

The dark blue armor reflected off of the sun, as his white hair appeared from the shadows of the coffin.

" **AND HOW DARE YOU BELIEVE YOURSELF POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CONTROL ME IN SUCH A MANNER!** "

Tobirama stepped out from the coffin completely, with a hard face and his red eyes narrowed. The red marks on his face making him seem even more imposing. Chakra flooded the area at an extreme rate, causing the ground under to crack and the air to thicken to syrup. The ANBU trapped outside the barrier stepped back, cowering from the intense negative energy.

" **Such insolence.** " Tobirama spoke darkly, with his eyes fixed on the snake sannin.

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 **Authors Note: This. Chapter. Took. So. Long. To. Write.**

 **I literally came home every day from work and deleted and rewrote this chapter! I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I need to move on so the story can progress. So long story short: Sorry for the wait! Hope you like it! :D**


	23. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: This chapter is reeeeeeeeeeeeeally long.**

 **I apologize. I was going to split it in half, but I didn't want to leave you guys with another cliffhanger while I finished up the second half. So… Sorry for the length!**

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Tobirama frowned as he felt his body lock up. His eyes shifted to Orochimaru; his red eyes locking on. " _It seems once a soul is summoned back from the dead, there is an… adjustment period for the soul to take over the living body its using._ " Tobirama focused internally, manipulating his chakra and spiritual energy to recover faster.

Orochimaru glared at the Second Hokage, " _I need to get the tags in their bodies now, before they are completely out of my control!_ " Orochimaru dashed forward, heading for the immobile First Hokage.

Unsure of Orochimaru's intention towards his brother, but unwilling to find out, Tobirama pushed his body forward, stumbling into Orochimaru's path and pushing chakra out. Orochimaru jumped back at the force of the chakra, before making another run.

"We need to stop Orochimaru from getting close to the First!" The Third yelled at his student, watching his sensei's clumsy attempt to defend his brother.

Jiraiya nodded, "Got it!" He leaped forward, hair hardening and shooting out to Orochimaru. When Orochimaru evaded to the side, Jiraiya ran through a series of hand signs before shooting fire at him, like a flamethrower.

The Third Hokage appeared from behind Orochimaru, "Shadow Shuriken!" Several large shuriken flew out and pinned Orochimaru in the back. Orochimaru's body melted into mud before appearing on the other side of the field.

"Ninja Art: Toad Oil Bomb!" Jiraiya called out, catching only Orochimaru's pant leg as he evaded.

" _DAMNIT! I can't get close!_ " Orochimaru thought, his eyes moving fast from Jiraiya, Hiruzen, and Tobirama. He focused on the Second Hokage, " _How is he able to move and expel chakra?!_ " Orochimaru formed several hand signs, "Summoning Jutsu!"

Two large white snakes appeared and took off towards Jiraiya and the Third Hokage.

Orochimaru quickly diverted back to the First and Second Hokages.

"Ha! Not a chance, Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru turned around to see Jiraiya quickly summon Gamabunta to fight the snakes, before running towards him at a phenomenal rate.

"Art of the Raging Lion's Mane!" Jiraiya's white hair shot out in different directions, in the attempt to grab Orochimaru. When it missed, the hair joined together to form a large mouth – aiming to swallow Orochimaru whole.

Orochimaru quickly summoned his blade, Kusanagi, and deflected his attack with a hard swing of his sword.

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Tobirama watched the fight between Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen before shifting his eyes over to his brother: Hashirama. Tobirama was starting to feel the chakra return to him, giving him more movement, but was confused as to why his brother continued to stare ahead like a zombie.

He had never seen his brother so… quiet before.

"Hashirama. Onii-san." Tobirama called to him, trying to move his body closer.

"Ah. Tobi…" Hashirama's eyes shifted down slightly, "It seems you are faring better than I." Tobirama was shocked by his brother's plain and expressionless tone. Hashirama sounded… like him… And that was not who his brother was.

" _That snake ninja… He must have completed the jutsu incorrectly…_ " Tobirama's eyes widened, " _Or he did this purposely… Fearing my brother's will could break the seal binding him under his control…_ " Tobirama's eyes shifted to Orochimaru, as he shots another attack towards Hiruzen.

" _Then… Why am I different?_ " Tobirama slowly raised his hands, feeling more of the chakra flow into them, " _Could it be because my soul was not summoned from the world of the dead?_ "

Tobirama jerked his face back to his brother's lifeless one, "We… I… need to seal your soul away from this curse."

Hashirama looked at his brother slothfully, "I understand." He slowly smiled gently at Tobirama, "I trust you… Otouto."

Tobirama's fists tightened, " _…To see my brother in such a way… Without that light in his eyes…_ _ **I wish I had never created this jutsu**_ _._ " Tobirama closed his eyes with a frown before opening them slowly with a determined look.

He reached his arm around to his back to grab a scroll.

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Tobirama's eye twitched, "… _You can't be serious…_ "

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He patted his left side.

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Then his right.

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Tobirama's eye twitched uncontrollably, " _Really? No supplies…_ " Tobirama huffed slight, before applying chakra to his feet and leaping towards Jiraiya, who also just landed near the Third Hokage. Hiruzen looked over at his former sensei, "It's good to see you again…" Hiruzen stopped, not quite sure what else to say.

Tobirama nodded, not wanting to waste time with pleasantries. He turned to face Jiraiya, who looked a little taken aback by Tobirama's hard stare.

Tobirama stared at him expressionless for a moment, " _…What was his name again…_ " Eye twitching slightly he quickly called him the name he remembered Naruto calling him, "You. Pervy-sage. Give me a blank scroll."

Jiraiya's eyes turned into blank, wide circles with his mouth slightly agape. He weakly pointed at himself, "…Pervy-sage…?" He squeaked out.

Tobirama looked at him blankly, "… _Damnit._ " He stumbled out, "…Jiraiya! Whatever your name is! Give me a scroll!"

Hiruzen sighed loudly, smacking his open palm into his face.

Jiraiya continued to stare bewildered at Tobirama, "…You know who I am?"

Tobirama growled, upset and embarrassed at his own foolishness, before barking out, "I am all knowing! NOW GIVE ME A DAMN SCROLL!"

Jiraiya's eyebrows flew up, before falling giving the Second Hokage an unimpressed look. Muttering, Jiraiya said, "…You didn't have to be rude about it…" He started shuffling in his stuff for a blank scroll. When he found it, he tossed it to Tobirama.

Tobirama quickly caught it before he flickered back to Hashirama, only to be stopped by Orochimaru. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that." Orochimaru spat at him, understanding Tobirama's intent to seal his brother's soul away.

Orochimaru and Tobirama made a mad dash to the First Hokage.

" _I can't let him get to Hashirama first!_ " Tobirama thought, before being suddenly flattened by a giant toad – who was thrown at Tobirama by one of the snakes.

"ARG!" Tobirama groaned, as he felt the impact of the toad. He was able to pull himself out from underneath the toad and watched as the injury to his leg disappeared with paper reforming his leg.

Tobirama's head quickly jerked up, to continue his run as he saw Orochimaru place the kunai and control tag into his brother's head.

"No!" Hiruzen cried, jumping in behind Tobirama.

Steam started to flow off of Hashirama's body – finishing the jutsu and bringing him fully to the world. Orochimaru chuckled wickedly as he stared at the Second Hokage, "A battle between brothers… I just can't wait!" He finished with a maniacal laugh.

Tobirama growled, getting to his feet.

"How do you want to play this?" Jiraiya asked, with a serious tone, coming up behind them after helping Gamabunta with the snakes – taking out one.

Tobirama stared ahead at his brother, expressionless, "I do not know your abilities, but my brother's unique skills are formidable. Even with the highly diluted chakra Orochimaru has provided him… This fight will not be easily won." Tobirama moved his chakra around, "I, myself, have been summoned with very limited chakra. This was likely done purposely so Orochimaru would not have to worry about keeping our spirits under control."

Jiraiya's eyes stayed firm on the First Hokage's form, "If that is so… How are you here… Fighting with us and not against us?"

The Third Hokage looked to his former sensei, curious on how much he was willing to tell.

Tobirama paused before answering, "I don't know… It is possible that even though my soul has been transplanted into this living sacrifice that…" Tobirama trailed off thinking, " _…That my other body is feeding this one – making my spiritual energy stronger! …Wait… My body!_ " Tobirama's eyes widened. It suddenly occurred to him that he passed out somewhere outside the arena.

His eyes shifted rapidly around the barrier for a weak point.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, "That…? You didn't finish."

Hiruzen was concerned as well, "What is it?"

Tobirama wasn't able to respond as the First Hokage raced towards them. Blocking a kick from his brother, he quickly formed hand signs, "Water Style: Water Shockwave!" A large gathering of water appeared from the air and circled around Tobirama before he aimed it at his brother.

Hashirama quickly responded with, "Wood Style: Demon Forest!" Roots and vines started growing out of the domes exterior and absorbed the water, creating a small forest around them.

Tobirama leaped forward, trading kicks and punches with Hashirama at a fast rate.

"Ninja Art: Toad Oil Bomb!" Jiraiya spat oil onto the trees surrounding them, "Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb!" Flames then followed, burning the plant life around them as Hiruzen blasted fire at Orochimaru.

Tobirama and Hashirama skidded back into the dome's surface, leaving wreckage in their wake.

"Wood Style: Giant Forest Technique!" Wood shot from Hashirama's arm, but Tobirama jumped up to dodge, " _What I would do for a paper bomb or five right about now…_ " Tobirama thought, racing towards his brother.

Tobirama raised his leg in the air and brought it down. Hashirama dodged to the side, the ground cracking where his brother's leg hit. He turned his body, swinging the wood extended from his arm into his brother's side.

Tobirama grabbed the wood with his hand, and used it as support to fling his body into the air and aim a roundhouse kick to Hashirama's head.

Hashirama leaped back, "Whoever thought you and I would fight with such intensity?"

Tobirama ran through a series of hand signs, "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" He called up an earth wall behind his brother before yelling out another jutsu, "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bomb!" Fire flew out of his mouth like a flamethrower at the Senju.

"Wood Style: Wood Wall!" Hashirama called up roots from the ground, intertwining upward and creating a wall in front of himself before he jumped around it to deliver a punch to Tobirama. Tobirama grabbed it and spun him around, "Nothing about this fight is intense. You are a shell of your former self and even I am limited." Tobirama told him, diving forward to take out Hashirama's legs.

Hashirama jumped, missing the attack. He formed several hand signs as the roots below started to come alive again – regenerating and flying toward Tobirama. Tobirama leaped back, and formed several hands signs as well, calling forth the remaining water in the air and dumping it at their feet.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!" Tobirama yelled, sticking out his hands and calling forth a large amount of lightning. The lightning arched and sparked around him, reflecting off of the water below and following the current out.

"RAWWW!" With a loud roar, Tobirama pushed out the energy from the lightning, striking the roots and shattering them into splinters.

Hashirama took a hit in the shoulder, causing paper to reform to recover from the wound.

Using the distraction and panting heavily, Tobirama yelled, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

He split into two and raced towards Hashirama at an incredible speed. "Wind Style: Vacuum Bomb!" Pockets of air shot towards Hashirama, cutting into more of his body. The clone quickly disappeared behind Hashirama, shoving a hand into his back and planting a seal.

"Arg!" Hashirama groaned, his head turning to read the seal on his back. His eyes widened as the clone jumped back.

*BOOM*

Tobirama watched as half his brother's body laid on the ground, burning, while the Reanimation Jutsu started to reform his body from the incurring damage.

Not one to waste time, Tobirama quickly called up the water again as he raced towards his brother's fallen body, "Water Style: Water Prison!" His hand shot out towards Hashirama, who was still recovering. Water shot up around him, spinning into a ball and incasing Hashirama inside.

"Checkmate." Hashirama told his brother with a smile on his face. Tobirama panted, looking up at his brother's black and brown eyes.

The clone approached the two, opening the scroll and starting on the soul removal process, "Onii-san…" Tobirama paused, a lost look in his eyes, "I… Forgive me Onii-san."

Hashirama's eyes soften at his little brother. He smile as he extended a hand, trying to grab Tobirama's water covered one, "I understand, Otouto."

"Sealing Technique: Spirit Sealing!" Tobirama's clone shouted as the light blue energy rushed out of Hashirama's body and into the scroll.

Tobirama released the jutsu as he watched the paper fall off of the sacrifice, " _One of the Sound genin from the exam._ " Tobirama thought, staring at the female.

Dismissing his clone, he picked up the scroll and stared at it, " _I need to seal this scroll somewhere it can never be unsealed._ "

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But even as his mind continued to work, his soul felt numb.

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Red eyes darkened as they thinned, focusing on the battle ahead of him.

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"We have a problem."

"Oh course we do…" Shikamaru groaned out, while leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

Naruto looked over to Shikamaru. He was a little upset with sensei for putting some stranger in charge of Team 7. Well, maybe he wasn't a stranger – he was Kanoko's brother, but that wasn't the point!

"Well? What's the issue?" Sakura asked, impatient and nervous.

"We have ninja closing in on our position. Chunin – maybe jounin." The pug, Pakkun said in a bored tone.

Shikamaru tsk'ed, "How many?"

Pakkun sniffed the air, "Nine… No, ten. One is hanging back."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru as his face scowled, " _What's the issue? Can't we just fight them, then continue on to finding Sasuke?_ "

Sakura voiced his concern for him, in which Shikamaru answered, "No. There's too many issues. First, we're out numbered. Two, we're out classed. Three, this isn't our terrain **and** we are the ones being tracked. We aren't going to lose them and a surprise attack will prove tricky." He paused looking ahead, "Best case, we beat them at the cost of losing Sasuke. Worst case, we die."

Naruto and Sakura looked away gloomy.

Shikamaru looked back, "There's only one option: One of us has to stay behind and act as a diversion."

All three of them stopped on a roof to look at one another as Shikamaru continued, "But that person… will most certainly die."

All three stared at the ground. Naruto's fists tightened, " _I have no choice. I won't leave Sakura to do this…_ " He raised his head, "I-"

"I'll do it." Shikamaru told them firmly.

"What?! Shikamaru?! No! You'll die!" Sakura exclaimed. Shikamaru sighed at her, "You and Naruto need to go ahead to help Sasuke. You're his best hope and you need Pakkun to get you there." Shikamaru smirked, "And… My jutsu is best suited for this type of plan. I have the best chance of surviving."

Naruto stared at Shikamaru. He always knew Shikamaru to take the quickest and easiest way out of things – always avoiding work and never trying harder.

It always upset him.

Shikamaru had a father and mother who loved him, a sister to play with and protect, and a best friend who was insanely loyal – and he didn't even have to try. Naruto, on the other hand, was always trying, working hard to get friends and people to respect him, hang out with him, like him…

But seeing him now… Maybe there's more to the lazy Nara than meets the eye.

"But… What if you die?" Sakura asked tentatively, her eyes firmly planted on her hands.

Naruto looked to his teammate then back at Shikamaru. Naruto stared at him as he recalled a memory he won't soon forget…

 _Flashback_

" _KANOKO!" Naruto yells, catching her._

 _Kanoko looked up at Naruto, "I made a promise… To my brother… To Shikamaru… That I would come back…" Kanoko placed her left hand on Naruto's hand, "Don't… *cough* let… the people precious to you down… like I did…"_

 _Kanoko exhaled and closed her eyes._

 _End Flashback_

"No."

Shikamaru and Sakura looked to Naruto bewildered.

"No what?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto raised his head and gave Shikamaru a serious look, "I'm not going to let you make that kind of sacrifice. We'll find another way."

Shikamaru tsk'ed, gritting his teeth in annoyance, "There is no other way! And we're wasting time!"

"And I said no!" Naruto roared back, "You think you're making this big noble act, but it's not noble at all! It's selfish! Maybe you feel obligated because of all the insane things your sister does! I get that, she's drives me insane with her over the top heroism and skill – making me look like some sort of clown!"

Naruto stomped over to Shikamaru and grabbed his collar and pulled his face closer, "That doesn't mean I'm going to let her down by getting her precious people killed!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened slowly, "…Her… Precious person?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow while thinking, " _I'm pretty sure Naruto said, "people", not "person"._ "

Naruto tsk'ed in annoyance at Shikamaru's oblivious, "Duh! You! She told me herself!" He let him go, shoving him to the ground and muttering, "…And everyone says I'm an idiot."

Shikamaru just stared at the ground before shaking his head and dusting himself off as he rose, "Well… Ummm… I guess… Then I won't?" Shikamaru was looking away, but Sakura caught of a slight amount of pink form on his cheeks at Naruto's words.

"I hate to break up this touching moment, but we have more deadly concerns pending at the moment." Pakkun told them plainly with a slightly annoyed expression.

Naruto crossed his arms and scrunched his face in thought, "Well… Do we have to fight them? Or could we lure them away?"

Shikamaru turned to Naruto, with an eyebrow raised, "What do you mean?"

Naruto answered, "Well, what if we…."

Shikamaru nodded to Naruto as he spoke, before staring at him in shock, "…That could work, but only if we….."

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"Those Leaf ninja… They really think a trick like this is going to fool us?" The leader of the Sound group spat as they watched the roof in front of them burn from an explosion.

"Then try this!" Naruto shouted throwing several kunai at them. They jumped back, but were hit with another wave of kunai, this time from behind.

"CHA!" Sakura yelled, throwing her kunai.

The group dispersed and started chasing after the two ninja separately. Out from the shadows flew two large shuriken, hitting one of the ninja in the shoulder and the other missing, just barely.

Shikamaru stood, lazily before taking off, away from the ninja. Sakura and Naruto diverted, following after Shikamaru.

"After them!" The leader roared as the group dashed after them.

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"The coast clear?" Naruto asked, sticking his head out.

Shikamaru sighed, "Well I hope so… After you just gave away our position." Naruto stuck his tongue out at Shikamaru in response.

"Yes, the coast is clear… Let's head out, we're losing ground." Pakkun spoke with a gruff and bored tone.

Everyone nodded before taking off.

Shikamaru mused out loud, "I can't believe they fell for that… And here I was about to make some noble sacrifice…" He finished, quoting Naruto's words from earlier.

Naruto chuckled before telling him with a cocky tone, "Sometimes it pays to think in simple terms."

Sakura giggled at Naruto, while Shikamaru just smirked and nodded. Naruto narrowed his eyes at them, then replayed his words in his head before screeching, "Ah! I meant…! You know what I meant! Gawwwr!"

Shikamaru just smiled lightly, nodding his head, "Yeah Naruto. We understand."

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"Well…. If it isn't Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked, "This is as far as you guys go." Sasuke took a long look at the trio. The kunoichi, Temari was poised and ready for action, while the puppet user, Kankuro, was carrying a pass out Gaara on this back. The mark on his neck had blackened and didn't seem to be growing anymore.

"So, what are you going to do?!" Kankuro shouted just before Temari leaped up, throwing senbon at Sasuke, "Get out of here Kankuro! Get him out of the village!"

Kankuro growled, "You won't be able to handle him!"

Temari gritted her teeth in response, "If we don't get Gaara out of here and he loses control… KANKURO! We are the only chance our village has!"

Kankuro looked down before nodded and taking off.

Sasuke leaped forward to grab Kankuro, but was stopped by Temari and her fan.

His eyes narrowed, "You really expect me to believe that you're protecting your village? Your ninja started attacking us!"

Temari tsk-ed, "That wasn't us! But I'm not wasting my time explaining it to you! For all we know, your village is the cause of all of this! You're the ones that suggested we hold the exams here!"

Sasuke ignored her and was about to attack when he heard footsteps behind him.

"SASUKE!"

He looked back to find Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru… And a dog… Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "What are you guys doing here?"

Naruto scoffed, "What do you think, teme?!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and turned back to Temari, "Get lost, I don't have time to deal with a dead-last loser. I need to catch up to the other sand ninja."

Naruto opened his mouth to yell again, but Shikamaru interrupted him, "Then let me take care of the girl and you three… plus Pakkun… go on ahead."

Naruto jerked his head back to Shikamaru, "Haven't we been through this?!"

Shikamaru just chuckled, "I know, but I got it this time. Don't worry about me… I won't lose to a girl."

Sakura's eyes narrowed at Shikamaru for the sexist comment, "I'd like to see you say that to Kanoko."

Shikamaru paled, "…She's barely human – let alone just some girl."

Naruto and Sakura shrugged, finding truth in the statement.

"Hn. Fine. Then let's go." Sasuke said, taking off.

"No you don't! Wind Scythe Jutsu!" Sasuke quickly hid behind a tree before dashing out and past Temari. Naruto, Sakura, and Pakkun following after him.

Temari curse and ran after them, only to be stopped by flying kunai, "It's a drag… I know. But I'm your opponent." Shikamaru told her plainly.

Her eyes thinned at Shikamaru, "Fine. I'll make this quick then!"

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*BOOM*

The ground shook as bombs all around the village went off – most of the explosions centralizing around the stadium.

"GET THOSE PEOPLE OUT!" A Sand jounin shouted to his comrades, pointing at a collapsing building. He turned to defend against another attack from a Sound ninja.

"THERE'S MORE OVER HERE!" A Leaf medical ninja yelled, pulling out civilians from underneath rubble.

People scattered and ran through the street, yelling in fear as snakes descended from below while debris from the buildings fell from above. A small edge of the dome had already collapsed due to the fighting and those asleep in the stands were awaking.

Outside of the screams, the clicking sound of metal was heard. Sound, Sand, and Leaf ninja all exchanging blows. Both the Sand and Leaf ninja were confused on who was friend and who was foe – costing those that hesitated, their lives.

"Cht. This is worse than I imagined…" A tall man with a spiky ponytail drawled out. He was kneeling on a roof, observing the area while Leaf ninja flicker to him and away.

"Shikaku-san! Who are we fighting?!"

"Shikaku-san! The Hokage is trapped behind an impenetrable barrier!"

"Shikaku-san! Where should we take the injured?!"

"Shikaku-san! The Sand's Jinchuriki is headed to the edge of the Village!"

Shikaku closed his eyes, listening to the reports and thinking about the next step, " _Troublesome… How did I get stuck doing the Hokage's job…_ "

Opening his eyes with a sharp look, he spoke firmly, "Orochimaru's followers of the Sound are the enemy – though some are casting as Sand nin." Shikaku gestured to one of the ANBU, "You will lead a team into the stadium to retrieve Leaf citizens. They are your priority – all other citizens are second to them." He then turned to Hyuuga Hiashi and pointed to a map of Suna, "We will gather our citizens here, outside the wall. We will need you and your clan to provide defense against incoming attacks and missed bombs."

Hiashi nodded, "I will leave you one of my clansmen for your use, the rest will follow me to the containment sight."

Shikaku nodded before sending the ANBU and his team off to gather people, now that they have a location to transport them too. Shikaku called over Inuzuka Tsume, "I don't believe we've seen all the bombs go off yet." He pulled out an extra map, "Move among the fighting and mark locations of landmines and other traps."

"Hai." She told him roughly before barking orders to her pack.

Shikaku's eyes shifted over to another ninja to give another order when he heard his name called out again, "SHIKAKU!"

Shikaku turned to see his wife running towards him. His eyes widened. He had always known his wife to be strong and never waver in the face of danger or tragedy.

But as he stared at the pain in her eyes and the tears running down her face, his heart dropped in pure dread, "Yoshino, what is it?" He asked in the calmest voice he could muster up, jumping to his feet.

She latched onto him, pulling at his shirt and yelling, "WE NEED A MEDIC! IT'S KANOKO!"

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His heart stopped as he looked up and past her.

Running up to him was his large friend, with a lifeless girl in his arms.

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His girl.

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He dashed forward, gesturing to a medic to follow. As he approached, Choza laid her down on the ground, "…Shikaku… I'm sorry… I should have looked for her sooner…"

His eyes widened as he took in the damage to her body. Her hair was out of its bun and pooled around her head. Her face was covered in dirt and scratches while blood fell from her mouth. Her clothes were covered in blood – some spatter from others, but much her own. As the medic pulled up her body, to take note of all the wounds Shikaku stared at the two stab wounds on her back.

" _How did anyone get close enough to her to stab her in the back like that?! It doesn't even look like she put up a fight…_ " Shikaku thought, looking for signs of her defending herself: bleeding knuckles, chakra depletion, more of the enemies' blood… He found little to none.

Shikaku was taken out of his thoughts when he saw the medic ninja's hands glow a steady green. He turned as he felt someone grab onto his arm and side tightly.

Shikaku placed an arm around his wife in comfort as he lost himself in his daughter's beaten form. He started wondering why he even let her become a ninja – her and her brother. They didn't deserve this kind of life. A life of death and war… Always on edge and always prepared to die…

He reached out to take her hand in his, " _She's so cold…_ " He tightened his hand as he felt his eyes water.

"Shikaku." He heard his other teammate call to him gently, "I can't begin to understand what you are going through." Inoichi looked over to his daughter's sleeping, but injury free form before turning back to Shikaku and placing a hand on his shoulder, "But we can't do this without you. We are already down our Hokage. We can't lose you as well."

Shikaku growled at his friend, ripping his hand off of his shoulder before looking at his daughter's face.

Shikaku sighed, his eyes dropping, "She always got upset with me when she felt I wasn't taking my duties to the village serious enough." He let go as he slowly got to his feet, he chuckled lowly, "And she will be mad when she wakes up to find me slacking." He turned to Yoshino and gave her a comforting smile, "Just like her mother."

Yoshino smiled sadly back at him before shooing him away to watch over her daughter.

Shikaku walked back to the staging area with his teammates, "Once we have evacuated all of our citizens, we will have to decide whether or not to support the Sand's forces." He eyes drifted to the barrier on top of dome, "And we have to find a way to free our Hokage."

"Shikaku-san."

Shikaku turned around to see Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai approach, "We have cleared the majority of the enemy's forces at the stadium and I have sent my team out to support Uchiha Sasuke as he tracked the Sand genin team." Kakashi paused, "Before the match started, I and Jiraiya-sannin noticed one of Orochimaru's curse seals on the Sand's Jinchuriki's neck. This seal could cause the other to falter and release the tailed beast."

Shikaku's eyes widened, "We need to leave the Sand. With the Hokage removed from the battle field, we don't have the resources to withstand an attack from a tailed beast, even if it is the one tailed."

Shikaku waved over several ninja, to relay new orders when Kakashi spoke again, "The boy hasn't released it yet and Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru will be able to hold him back until I get Kanoko. She's the only one that can remove the curse seal." Kakashi paused to look around, "I assumed she would default to the staging area for orders. Have you already sent her off?"

Shikaku's eyes narrowed harshly at Kakashi, "You… Are going to cost me both my children…"

Kakashi stepped back, having never heard such a tone or seen such an expression on his jounin commander's face before, "…Sir?" He asked tentatively.

Shikaku closed his eyes, calming himself. Now was not the time to get angry or blame others for the anger he felt towards himself. He gestured Kakashi to follow him as they walked around the many Leaf shinobi.

Kakashi's eye widened and felt his body turn cold when he saw the glowing green chakra, coming from the medic ninja's hands, over Kanoko's body.

"How…?" Kakashi was also confused. Of all his students, he felt Kanoko was most like him – following the rules of a shinobi, carefully observing her surroundings, and armed with more contingency plans then possibly ever needed. She never hesitated in her movements and had no apprehension towards killing others to survive.

Shikaku shook his head, "I don't understand it myself." He turned to Kakashi with a serious look, "But if what you said is true and Kanoko does not wake up, then we can't remain here. We have to leave the Sand."

Kakashi nodded, "I will leave immediately and recall my team, your son, and Sasuke."

Shikaku agreed with a nod of his own, "See that you do. And Kakashi… You bring back my son in better condition than my daughter."

Kakashi nodded before bowing and teleporting away.

Shikaku looked up at the barrier holding in their Hokage and Jiraiya, " _It could only be our miserable luck that both our fuinjutsu experts are locked away._ " His eyes drifted to Kanoko, " _And likely the reason she was targeted…_ "

He sighed as he looked up at the cloudless sky, " _If she survives this… Her and her brother are going through the same training my father put me through._ "

Shikaku sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, " _And he was the first male Nara to be born with a cruel demeanor and rigorous work ethic…_ "

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kankuro panted as he leaped through the edge of the Sand Village to its outer walls. He turned his head slightly to Gaara, still passed out over his shoulder.

"….Kankuro… Put me down…" Kankuro's eyes widened at his little brother's mumbling. He responded, "Are you sure Gaara?"

"Yes." Gaara hissed out, as they stopped just before the village's wall.

"Gaara, we need to get out of the village! You're not…" Kankuro stopped, looking away from his brother – ashamed at what he was going to say, " _…well enough to be trusted in the village._ " He finished in his head.

Gaara just exhaled heavily, ignoring his brother as his eyes focused on the group standing before him.

"This is the end of the line for you guys!" Naruto shouted, point his finger at them. Sasuke stood in front, eyes focused and hand in his kunai pouch.

Kankuro took a stance, readying his puppet jutsu when a cloaked figure jumped between them, facing the Leaf ninja, "Now, now. Let's not fight. We're all on the same side here." Kankuro's eyes narrowed at his back. He looked like a Sand ANBU Black Ops member, but he wouldn't be the first Sand ninja today to not be who they seemed.

Sasuke's eyes thinned, "I doubt that."

The ANBU member hummed wistfully, "Well, you're entitled to your opinion, I suppose… But I speak honestly when I say I mean you no harm."

Pakkun shifted the air, "I wouldn't trust this guy…" He whispered to the team.

Sakura looked to Sasuke for guidance, but his eyes remained firm on the three Sand ninjas.

No one was able to respond before Gaara started screaming again, his face cracking while he wallowed in pain. Even while he crumbled at the pain, he spoke to Sasuke, "We're so alike… Uchiha."

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he felt his body stiffen at the dark chakra flowing off of Gaara. Gaara continued while holding a hand to his face and covering his eye, "I don't have friends as you have… But they are not what makes you strong. It's your purpose that does it! In that way… we are alike."

Gaara paused, smiling wickedly, "But my purpose is stronger. For, by destroying you… and all you represent – will I even prove that I exist! Only by killing you, will I feel alive!"

Sakura gasped as she focused her eyes on Sasuke's back in worry.

Naruto stared at Gaara, fists tightening before stiffening again when Gaara wailed out an even worse scream of pain. This one, high in pitch while the wall cracking behind him from the pressure.

Everyone's eyes widened as Gaara's face started to deform.

"GAARA! NO! YOU NEED TO CONTROL IT! GAARA!" Kankuro shouted on the top of his lungs to his little brother, trying to get close before getting smack away by Gaara, hitting the wall behind with a crack, "DON'T YOU DARE GET IN MY WAY!" Gaara bellowed at his brother.

"GYAH!" Kankuro coughed, blood spitting out of his mouth.

"He's a monster!" Sakura screamed out.

Naruto's eyes just pinpointed on Gaara in shock, " _Could it be…? Could he be… like me?_ "

The ANBU turned around to stare at the boy before him, as his face grew and changed into a beast's. His eyes focusing on his neck, " _The seal is still inactive. To think… This boy has suppressed it all on his own… Impressive._ " The ANBU jumped in the air, making his way over to the wall behind Gaara, " _Unfortunately for him, I can't let that happen… After all, the tail beast is critical to the destruction of the Leaf and Sand._ "

With a smirk forming underneath his mask as his pulled out some chakra scalpels, but before he could take aim, Gaara's arm deformed into a giant sand claw. Gaara quickly leaped toward Sasuke, smashing his claw into the ground where Sasuke stood, pushing up sand and dust as the ground shook from the blow.

"Sasuke!" Sakura and Naruto yelled, jumping back and aiming kunai at Gaara. The kunai hit the deformed arm, but instead of causing damage, they were absorbed into his skin. Gaara laughed as he flung his arm towards Sakura, the kunai returning to her at an incredible rate.

"Gyah!" She cried, jumping to the side, but getting hit in the arm.

"Leave her alone!" Naruto growled, creating multiple clones and attacking Gaara from all sides. "GRA!" Gaara roared, pushing them all back, popping them as they hit the surrounding buildings.

Naruto gritted his teeth before going in for another attacked, "Try this then!" Naruto didn't get the chance to follow through, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" A powerful flame shot out and engulfed Gaara – burning him alive.

"Sasuke!" Naruto chastised Sasuke for his brutality before jumping back at Gaara's wicked laughing. Another "arm" shot out of the red head, looking more like a tail. Quickly, it whipped around and pushed back Naruto roughly into the wall behind him.

Sasuke quickly ran away to plan another attack, but Gaara was quick to follow. Widening his eyes, Sasuke quickly activated his Sharingan to read his attack. " _His chakra… Where is it coming from?!_ "

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Flames blasted towards Gaara, this time coming from Sakura. He jumped back, growling at the interference. Sakura dropped to her knee, exhausted from her last match against Ino and from all the running here. She panted before her eyes widening as Gaara turned his sights on her.

Sasuke acted quickly, calling up his chakra with light focusing in his hand, "Chidori!" The sounds of bird chirping filled the area as Sasuke's sparking fist made contact with one of Gaara's tails.

"ARRRR!" Gaara cried, falling forward before quickly regenerating the tail, "I won't… lose! I will show you that my purpose is stronger!" Gaara wailed out, pushing his body forward.

Sasuke kicked Sakura away with a grunt, " _He's faster than before!_ " Quickly, he formed hand signs, but wasn't quick enough and was punched in the stomach – being sent into the wall of a building. The wall crumbed around Sasuke at the force of the impact.

When the dust cleared, Sasuke was sitting awkwardly on the ground, trying to get up, but struggling due to the pain.

Gaara growled, "Is that is…? That was the best… you could do… to show the value of your existence?" He paused before letting out a wicked laugh, "You hate is weak. Far weaker than mine!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, speaking lowly, "Shut. Up."

"…And you know what that means…" Gaara continued.

"JUST SHUP UP!" Sasuke roared out.

"You're going to die!" Gaara started laughing uncontrollably.

Sasuke's eyes turned harsh, with a crazy glint in them. He briefly thought of Kakashi's warning about the Chidori jutsu: How he was limited to only twice a day – especially while using the Sharingan. Anymore and he could die.

.

But that wasn't important now.

.

What was important was proving his worth. Proving that his hate was stronger. That, by this act, it meant he was one step closer to avenging his family.

And killing the man responsible: His brother.

.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!" Sasuke roared, calling up his chakra and forming the lightening around his hand and arm. Blue light glowed off of the building as he took off – Gaara taking off as well and meeting him half way.

*BAM*

A loud sound split the air as Gaara and Sasuke traded blows, landing in different locations with their backs to each other.

.

.

.

"GYAAAH!" Gaara wailed, his sand tail falling again before regenerating for the second time, while chakra spilled out of him – causing the seal on his neck to glow faintly before turning dark again.

" _So close…_ " The Sand ANBU thought, eyes focused on the fight below. He heard a loud noise and turned to the Uchiha. He was face first in the sand, flat on his stomach, " _He used too much chakra… This would be a perfect time to grab him for Orochimaru… If he's still alive._ "

"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed, stumbling over to Sasuke's body and she willed chakra out of her. He hands shook over his body as green energy glowed over his wounds, " _I can't… I just can't lose him!_ " Sakura thought, tears in her eyes.

Gaara turned his head slowly to Sasuke and Sakura, with a wild grin on his face before leaping in for another attack – this one to be the last.

Sakura's eyes widened in fear before closing them in panic.

.

.

.

*BAM*

She heard a loud noise, but felt nothing. Slowly she opened up her eyes before they widened in shock, "N-Naruto…!"

In front of Sasuke and Sakura was Naruto, blocking Gaara from completing his attack before roaring loudly and knocking him back into the wall. Panting at the force, Naruto turned to Sakura and gave her a smirk, "I won't let him hurt you or Sasuke. Believe it!"

He then turned to Gaara with a serious expression and body poised for an attack. Sakura just stared at Naruto's back, before softening and turning back to Sasuke – trying to heal his wounds.

Naruto stared ahead at Gaara, " _This guy…_ "

Gaara also took a moment to stare at Naruto, "You… You're the one that ran into Temari…" He paused, "The weakling…"

Naruto growled as his fist tightened, "I-"

Naruto didn't get to finish when Gaara quickly and unexpectedly whipped past Naruto and headed straight for Sasuke, "YOU WILL DIE SASUKE UCHIHA!"

Naruto's body turned in slow motion, trying to get in front of him and defend Sasuke, but was too slow.

Being closer, Sakura pushed her body in front of Sasuke. Eyes focused and kunai ready. She didn't have the strength or skill to defend against Gaara of the Sand, but she would give her life to defend Sasuke's.

That she knew for certain.

.

.

.

Gaara flinched at the last second, pushing her out of the way and holding his face in pain as he stood over Sasuke's body.

Quickly, Naruto grabbed Sasuke and moved him away before turning to Sakura.

She was passed out, with Gaara's tail holding her down.

" _That girl is crazy for getting in the way._ " Kankuro thought, wincing in pain and keeping far away from the fight.

.

After what seemed like ages, Gaara slowly removed his hand from his face and turned to Naruto, eyes pinpoints and mouth stretched into a wicked smile.

Naruto shook slightly with panic, " _…Those eyes…!_ "

"What's the matter… Weren't you about to do something…" He paused before laughing, "A weakling like you… Who has no purpose… No meaning of existence… You should just run away."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and growled before looking to Sasuke at his feet then to Sakura, still trapped by Gaara's sand.

Gaara caught his look and asked, "These two… Who are they… To you?"

"Who are they…?" Naruto repeated before standing tall and responding roughly, "They're my friends, that's who they are! And if you so much as lay another FINGER on the two of them and I will **pulverize you**!"

Gaara wasn't pleased by Naruto's grand statement and applied pressure to Sakura's body, making her scream out before passing out again. "What? Weren't you going to pulverize me?" Gaara asked, growling slightly.

"DAMNIT!" Naruto yelled, throwing a punch at Gaara, only to get knocked back.

Gaara stared coldly at Naruto, "…You won't win…" Naruto turned to him, rubbing blood from his face. Gaara continued, "You're purpose… It's weak… Fighting for your _friends_ … You should fight for yourself… Then your purpose would at least be worthy."

"The only one here with a weak purpose is you!" Naruto growled out before leaping towards Gaara, "AND I WILL BEAT YOU TO PROTECT MY FRIENDS!"

000000000000000000000000000000

Shikamaru held his hands together, slightly shaking from chakra exhaustion. In front of him, also panting, was Temari of the Sand.

"You little..! Damnit!" She cursed as her body struggled to move.

Extending from Temari was a thin black line on the ground, connecting to Shikamaru. He had suffered a few bumps and bruises, but his dwindling chakra was his biggest concern at the moment.

" _The only reason I even lasted this long is because of all the training Kanoko put me through to further grow her own chakra reserves._ " Shikamaru gave an annoyed look at the thought, " _…Where is she anyways… I was sure I would have seen her by now._ "

"What now?" Temari asked, impatient, but worried for her safety.

Shikamaru sighed, "…You said that you were trying to get your brother out of the village… Why?"

Temari gritted her teeth, not answering his question. Sighing louder this time and wincing slightly at the pull of chakra from his jutsu, he rephrased his question, "Look… I think the Sand and Leaf are both victims in this attack, but this isn't our village, and worst comes to worst… We can just leave." He paused, "But you guys don't have that option… That being said, the Sand is an ally to the Leaf, so we won't just abandon you unless you give us a reason to…"

Temari growled again, " _He's right. They don't have an obligation to stay, but that doesn't mean we can't trust that they had any part in this attack._ "

Shikamaru sighed, realizing he would have to do more. He thought for a moment before untwining his hands and releasing his jutsu.

"What the… Are you some idiot?!" Temari snarled at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shrugged, slightly agreeing with her statement before speaking, "I'm giving you a reason to trust me… I'm not sure if you're the enemy or a friend, but I want to trust that our goals are aligned."

"And what goal is that?" Temari asked suspiciously.

"To keep the people we care about safe. To protect our friends and our families." He said simply, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Temari gave him a hard look, taking a moment to think. She closed her eyes, "…I don't trust you, Leaf nin…" She opened them back up, "But if you help me save my village… and my little brothers… I'll help you save your friends."

Shikamaru thought about her offered and wondered if he could trust her. He looked up to the cloudless sky, " _I don't have much of a choice here… I don't know what Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are up against… My sister is nowhere to be found… And no jounin have shown up, to back us up…_ "

Looking back at her, he extended a hand, "Deal."

She scoffed at him before turning, "…Deal."

They both took off to find their friends, or in Temari's case, the only family she had.

0000000000000000000000000000000000

Naruto fell back, holding onto the small toad his summoned in error. He winced as he look towards Gaara – his body was changing as the sand formed around him. Leaving only his legs visible, the rest of him, deformed into a beast with sharp yellow eyes.

" _Those eyes… Full of loneliness… I've seen eyes like those before… In myself._ " Naruto thought, staring into Gaara's yellow and purple demon eyes. He closed his eyes in frustration, thinking about the villagers, " _I remember hating them… because they hated me! And I didn't even know why._ "

Naruto thought back to his fight with Mizuki. " _And then I found out about the demon fox inside me… That just made it so much worse…_ " His thoughts drifted.

" _But then…_ "

.

 _Iruka turned around to face Naruto, "How about ramen with extra barbeque pork?" He asked with a smile. Naruto jumped into the air, "YAHOO!"_

 _._

" _Hn! You're such a loser." Sasuke told Naruto, smirking with his teammates behind him, "I don't even know why you bother training." Hinata pulled on Sasuke's shirt, "N-Naruto-kun… Isn't- he isn't a l-loser…" Kiba laughed at Sasuke's annoyed look caused by Hinata's betrayal, "You tell him Hinata! Hahaha!"_

 _._

" _So Naruto! Did you get it?! Do you know what Sasuke… how he… I mean… What are his feelings towards me?!" Sakura tentatively asked while she fidgeted. Naruto just shook his head, "Nope. I have no idea." Sakura's face immediately dropped in disappointment. Naruto giggled, "But Sakura-chan! If you want to know how I feel about you, then – wait, where are you going?!"_

 _._

 _Naruto dashed through the streets, giggling as he turned corners. "NARUTO!" A raging Kanoko appeared in front of him. She was a mess: Her hair had glue dripping down off of it, her outfit was covered in orange paint, as feathers littered her body and the ground she stood on. Naruto held his belly as he laughed at her, "AHAHAHAHA! I can't believe you fell for that one!"_

 _._

 _Naruto was just about to chow down on some ramen when Kakashi-sensei appeared form his window, handing him a basket of vegetables, "Naruto… You won't live long on ramen, beans and barbeque pork. If you want to be a ninja, you have to eat your vegetables." He finished with a smiling eye. "Ack!" Naruto said, moving away from the basket._

.

" _Hey Naruto? You going to join us? We need another person…" Choji shyly asked Naruto. "Yeah! You guys are going to need all the help you can get, with the lazy bum on your team!" Ino yelled, sticking her tongue out. Naruto grinned, running forward as Shikamaru slowly follow, mumbling a "troublesome" as he walked._

Naruto smiled softly, " _A few people came along who paid attention to me… I was alright then… Even with this monster inside, because… I wasn't alone anymore._ "

He focused his thoughts on his team: Sakura, Kanoko, and Kakashi-sensei standing before him. Team Kurenai standing off to the side and Team Asuma on the other, " _They made me happy… And glad to be alive._ "

Naruto looked at Gaara's deformed face, " _What would I be like, if I never met them…_ "

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" Gaara roared, his sand pushing on Sakura again, "SHE WILL DIE IF YOU DO NOT ACT!"

Naruto gritted his teeth, " _I have to do something! I can't let Sakura down!_ "

Naruto leaped at Gaara, trying to attack him with shadow clones, but was blown back. Gaara called up his sand and transformed it into several shuriken before sending them straight to Naruto. Naruto quickly evades, but not before taking hard hit to the stomach, sending him roughly in the building behind him. Coughing, he stared up at Gaara again, " _None of this is working! He's too strong!_ "

Naruto gritted his teeth before looking over to Sakura. His eyes softened, " _Sakura-chan… DAMNIT!_ _HOW CAN I POSSIBLY BEAT A GUY LIKE THAT?!_ " Naruto's hands pulled at his hair in frustration.

"…Naruto…"

Naruto's eyes opened before turning towards the voice. His eyes widened, "…Sasuke?" Sasuke coughed in response before speaking lowly, "…You need to get out of here… He's… Out of your league…" Sasuke coughed, trying to push himself onto his feet, but falling back down.

Naruto watched him with concerned eyes, "Sasuke! …But what about Sakura-chan?!"

Sasuke looked back at Sakura's form before his eyes dropped to the ground, "I… Naruto. We can't beat him." He looked away, "…She already dead."

Naruto stared at him blankly before growling.

Hearing his growl, Sasuke moved his gaze to him, but was quickly taken aback when Naruto screamed at him, "SHE PROTECTED YOU! SHE WAS WILLING TO DIE FOR YOU! AND YOU WOULD LEAVE HER TO DIE?! WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT?!"

Naruto panted, due to his yelling, with his hands clenched tightly at his side before speaking darkly, "I will **never** leave a person I care about to die!" Naruto turned to face Gaara, "You have to protect the people precious to you. And I **WILL PROCTECT SAKURA-CHAN!** "

Blue energy flew around Naruto pulling up the sand and causing the broken wall behind him to crumble. Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto formed a seal, yelling, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Gaara, Kankuro, and Sasuke gaped as smoke filled the entire area. As the smoke cleared, over a hundred Narutos were seen. Some were on roofs, many on the ground, and a few sticking their heads out windows of buildings.

Naruto smirked, pulling out a scroll, "I stole this scroll from my teammate… But I never got around to asking her what was inside." Naruto's grin turned wicked as the Narutos descended on Gaara.

Gaara's eyes widened, " _How…?! There's…_ _ **So. Many.**_ " His eyes shifted rapidly around the area, to all of the Narutos. He moved around, trying to jump away from the incoming attacks, but was quickly overwhelmed by the numbers.

"GYAHHH!" Gaara wailed at the assault before taking a hit in the back. He was propelled into the ground, with a loud crack and sand flying in every direction. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the many Narutos dog piled on top of and around him, kicking and hitting him from every direction.

" **I… won't lose to… A GUY LIKE YOU!** " Gaara wailed, gathering chakra and popping all the Narutos around him.

Gaara's eyes shifted around the area for the real Naruto, only to find him grinning and waving from a safe distance, on top of the roof of a building.

Gaara's beast-like eyes narrowed.

"GAARA! AT YOUR FEET!" Temari screamed, leaping out from behind a building and racing towards him.

Quickly, Gaara's gaze moved to look at his feet.

His eyes widened.

Below him, was the scroll Naruto held up earlier; completely unraveled and glowing dark red.

.

.

.

.

.

*BOOOOOOM*

00000000000000000000000000000000000

*BOOOOOOM*

Smoke rose from the edge of the village in a large puff. Tobirama kicked Orochimaru in the back, sending him into Jiraiya's fist, before looking out towards the smoke.

Turning back to Orochimaru, who was pinned in-between the three of them, he said, "Your plan is failing. You are no match for the three of us and your forces outside are slowly dwindling."

Orochimaru hissed at the men around him, " _This isn't how it was supposed to go!_ " He turned his eyes on Jiraiya, " _Not only did the fool show up…_ " Orochimaru looked at Tobirama, " _But_ _ **he**_ _broke my jutsu and is now using it against me… I can't even release him, now that his own will has taken over… And any injury that he receives is simply "fixed" by the reincarnation jutsu._ "

The Third Hokage stepped forward, holding his staff up, "…And it's too late for you, Orochimaru." Hiruzen's eyes hardened, " **You will die here**."

.

"…Me? Die?" Orochimaru started chuckling lowly before breaking out into a mad and maniacal laugh, "…Even if you did kill this body… I'd hardly be dead." Orochimaru smirked wickedly, slowly getting to his feet.

"Body…? What have you done?!" Jiraiya barked at his former teammate. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed before widening in disbelief, "…No. Don't tell me…"

Orochimaru crackled, "But it's true." He pulled at the skin on his face, pulling it off to reveal a young woman's face behind it.

Tobirama crossed his arms and frowned, "That's why you targeting the Uchiha. You intend to transplant your soul into his body." He paused, "…You truly are a despicable human being."

Orochimaru smirked at the Second Hokage, "Oh? Are you really so different?" He grinned widely, "After all… That's not **your** body that you're using."

Tobirama narrowed his eyes, but did not dispute that fact.

"Enough!" Hiruzen barked, "It doesn't matter what body you take over. I'M GOING TO STOP YOU TODAY!" Hiruzen called upon his staff and thrusting it towards Orochimaru, allowing the Third's summon to keep him busy while Hiruzen formed several hand signs.

Jiraiya watched his teacher, before his eyes grew in shock and panic, "SENSEI! NO!"

The Third Hokage ignored him while Tobirama focused on the jutsu, " _I don't recognize this jutsu…_ "

Once the current Hokage was finished he turned to Jiraiya, "Jiraiya… I won't survive this jutsu." He didn't get to finish as Jiraiya leaped towards him to yell, "Then you shouldn't do it! There's absolutely no reason to resort to this!" Jiraiya's face was full of anger and a small bit of sadness.

Hiruzen's eyes softened at his student, picturing him as the young kid he once was, "Jiraiya… I know you don't agree… But this is the only way to save the Leaf and correct the mistakes I have made." He paused as his looked over to Orochimaru, "He hasn't shown us his true strength… You and I both know that. And if he truly has mastered moving his soul from one vessel to another, the only way to stop him is to seal his soul away." He turned to the edge of the village, "And we can't afford to waste time."

"And the cost should be your life?! This will only hurt the Leaf!" Jiraiya chastised him.

Tobirama walked up, "I am not entirely sure what you are planning, Hiruzen, but Jiraiya speaks truth. You have no successor to take your place. To leave the village in such a state would cause disarray."

"Listen to the Second Hokage!" Jiraiya said before chuckling slightly and giving Tobirama a smirk, "He's **all knowing** after all."

Tobirama crossed his arms and gave Jiraiya an annoyed look.

The Third Hokage chuckled, "…That's one of the best things about you, Jiraiya. You create light and humor out of any situation." His eyes softened, "Of all three of my students, you always had the brightest and most caring of hearts." Hiruzen closed his eyes lightly, "…I would ask you to be the Hokage, but I know you wouldn't."

Jiraiya frowned before gritted his teeth, "…You're still going to go through with it…"

Hiruzen nodded, "… I am." He looked Jiraiya in the eyes, "I won't let the citizens of our village continue to suffer for my weakness." The Third Hokage turned to face Orochimaru again, who had a foot on Hiruzen's summoned monkey, grinning wickedly at him – waiting for Hiruzen to make a move.

Staring ahead, Hiruzen said, "…Tsunade."

Jiraiya's ears perked up, "What?"

"That's who will become the Fifth Hokage." The current Hokage explained.

"Tsunade…" Tobirama mumbled lowly, thinking about the little girl he once knew.

Jiraiya shook his head sadly before sighing, "… She won't do it."

Hiruzen smirked before turning slightly to Jiraiya, "You'll find a way. I believe in you."

Jiraiya's eyes softened at his sensei, before dropping in sadness. He opened his mouth to respond when he jumped back suddenly to avoid a group of snakes aiming for his throat.

"I'm getting bored over here with all your rambling." Orochimaru told them with a hiss. Jiraiya growled lowly, eyes focused on his former teammate. Not diverting his attention, he told his sensei, "I'll grab him for you to complete the jutsu…" He gritted his teeth, "I still don't agree… But I will do as you ask."

Hiruzen smiled sadly at his student, "Thank you Jiraiya. And I am sorry to have to ask such of you."

Jiraiya shrugged with a small smile before leaping towards Orochimaru and trading blows.

With Jiraiya and Orochimaru a good distance away from their position, Tobirama stepped up to Hiruzen, "…I don't know exactly what your plan is…" He repeated, "But I will help you – for I trust your judgement."

The Third Hokage smiled at him, "I am sorry. You asked that I not die…" He paused, shrugging slightly, "But I suppose we both knew that I was not going to be able to follow through on that promise."

Tobirama closed his eyes, silently agreeing before Hiruzen continued, "And even now… I must ask a high price from you."

The Second Hokage raised an eyebrow. He was silent before nodding, "...What would you ask of me?"

00000000000000000000000000000000

"It's… It's… A monster…!" Shikamaru stuttered out, looking at the raccoon like beast standing tall and enormous before them. The wall leading to the outside was completely demolished by the transformation and the sand was slowly rising to the beast, feeding its massive form.

"So that's it…" Naruto gasped, thinking of his own tailed beast.

Jerking out of his shock, Shikamaru quickly helped Sasuke to his feet while he yelled to Naruto, "That, we can't handle! We need to get Sakura and get out of here!"

Naruto moved his wide eyes to Shikamaru, "But, how do we get her out?!" He said, motioning to the sand pinning her down.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, " _He's right… And I don't think there's a way, outside of beating_ _ **that thing**_ _."_ His eyes turned to "Gaara", " _But Naruto won't leave Sakura… And they're both Kanoko's teammates…_ "

"There's no way you can stop him now…"

Shikamaru turned around, with Sasuke still draped over his shoulder, to see Kankuro and Temari. Temari continued, "He… He's unbeatable in this form…"

Naruto's face turned angry before yelling, "Why is everyone saying that! He's too powerful! He's out of our league! He's unbeatable!" Naruto stomped his foot, "Well you know what?! Since no one else will do it, I'll do it! I'LL BEAT HIM AND SAVE EVERYONE!"

Kankuro snorted, "We heard you the first twenty times, retard."

Temari wacked him as she gave him a look. He just shrugged in response – completely done with the whole situation. He was sure he was going to die anyways, might as well just accept it.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!" Naruto roared as the air was sucked in around him. The other quickly jumped back and out of the way.

0000000000000000000000000000

Jiraiya smirked at Orochimaru as he watch Gamabunta knock Orochimaru's snake, Manda, to the ground and then pin him down with his large foot.

Jiraiya chuckled lowly, "Looks like you're losing on all fronts… Old friend."

Orochimaru hissed, "…Damn useless snake." He mumbled.

Jiraiya just laughed, crossing his arms, "I was always the better fuinjutsu user of all three of us, so it makes sense that my toads would be too much for your snakes to handle."

Orochimaru opened his mouth to curse his old teammate when suddenly Gamabunta poofed from the battle field.

Jiraiya's jaw hit the ground, "…Whaaaaaaa?!"

Orochimaru chuckled wickedly, "Better fuinjutsu users huh? Can't even keep your summon around long enough to finish the job." He paused to add a final insult, "Similar to your luck with woman, eh?"

Jiraiya sent him an annoyed look in retaliation.

00000000000000000000000000000000

A large red toad appeared in front of the One Tailed Beast, with Naruto standing on top of his head.

Shikamaru and Sasuke stared up at Naruto with wide eyes.

"Did… You know he could do that?" Shikamaru asked Sasuke, completely in shock.

Sasuke shook his head, "There's… There's just no way… He's a dobe…"

Gamabunta looked up at Naruto and drawled, "…You couldn't have picked a worse time… Brat." He paused to look ahead, "Well… Look here. Shukaku: The One Tailed Beast." He finished, blowing out smoke from his pipe.

Naruto narrowed his eyes before smirking, "Well?! Are you going to fight alongside me, chief toad?!"

Gamabunta gave him a dull look before grunting, "Yeah... No."

"Whaaaat?! Why not?!" Naruto yelled at him.

Gamabunta grunted, "Right… I'm not facing a guy like him."

"But! You said you were going to make me your henchman! It's only natural for the boss to want to help out his henchman!" Naruto started whacking the toads head in frustration.

On the ground, Shikamaru face-palmed, " _Clearly you have no concept of the word, "henchman"._ " He watched as Naruto verbally fought with the toad. His eyes shifted over to Gaara's form and noticed his eyes were focused on Naruto.

Using the opportunity, he moved Sasuke over to Sakura to inspect the trap she was being held in, " _This sand…_ " His eyes moved over it, " _I'm not sure how we can remove it without hurting Sakura._ "

Sasuke's attention was focused on the battle above as he watched the giant toad pull out his sword – ready to make a move. His eyes went wide again, as the toad launched at Gaara, taking off his arm, and hitting the ground with a large "boom".

More buildings and walls crumbled under Gamabunta and the force of his landing.

The One Tail turned around to face Gamabunta and Naruto. Gamabunta took a stance to attack again when Naruto stopped him, "Wait! Sakura is over there! And my friends too! We need to lure him this way!"

"Sakura?" The giant toad asked. Gamakichi, the smaller orange toad Naruto summoned earlier, laughed on top of Naruto's head, "It's his girlfriend!"

"Interesting… Not bad… UZUMAKI NARUTO!" Gaara roared with wicked laughter.

From the beast's head, Gaara's human body formed, "I'll show you the true power… The manifestation… Of the Sand!"

At his appearance on the One-Tails head, Gamabunta started to tell Naruto of the curse of Shukaku and how the vessel of Shukaku is prone to mental illness due to lack of sleep.

"The true danger… Is if the vessel falls asleep…" Gamabunta finished. Not even a minute after he finished, Gaara used a jutsu to send himself to sleep and awakening Shukaku.

The large creatures started fighting again, this time, using jutsus that obliterating the area around.

"Gyah!" Shikamaru grunted, getting hit with sand and water from their attacks.

"Great. Rain. I love rain."

Shikamaru turned around to the small dog, "When did you get here?" Shikamaru drawled out.

Pakkun growled, "I was here the whole time."

Sasuke shrugged at Shikamaru's questionable look, not really caring. He was more interested in the massive fight ahead of them.

Gamabunta slammed into Shukaku again, "Now Naruto! Attack the runt!" He yelled, referring to Gaara. Before Naruto could move, Shukaku pushed him back.

"I can't hit him if you keep getting pushed back!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I don't have any claws or horns to hold him down. You need to use the transformation jutsu to transform me into a being with fangs and claws." Gamabunta told him, falling back before leaping towards Shukaku again.

"AHH! I'm not READY!" Naruto screamed before muttering, "Fangs and claws… fangs and claws…"

"TRANSFORMATION JUSTU!"

Shikamaru's arms dropped to his sides, "…That's…"

"…The Nine-Tails…" Sasuke finished for him.

A long orange fox whipped swiftly through the field, dodging Shukaku's attacks until finally grabbing on with his claws and fangs.

"Now Naruto!" Gamabunta yelled.

"Got it!" Naruto responded, releasing the transformation and landing a punch on Gaara's face.

"DAMNIT! I JUST GOT HERE!" Shukaku wailed, as control turned back over to Gaara.

As Gaara's eyes opened, he glared harshly at Naruto, "You… Sand BURIAL!"

Naruto cried out as the sand shot towards him. Thankfully, Gamabunta's tongue wrapped around him in time – blocking the attack.

"You aren't getting away from me!" Gaara screamed.

Naruto looked down at the sand filling up and trapping him in, " _Not again!_ " Naruto thought, thinking about the first stage in the Chunin Exams.

Gamabunta brought is tongue back, thinking, " _This isn't good… That sand brat has more strength left while Naruto and I are out of chakra!_ "

Naruto struggled in the sand, gritting his teeth in frustration.

His eyes focused on Sakura below, " _I won't… I won't lose… I won't let me friends get hurt!_ "

"ARRRR!" Naruto roared, calling upon his secondary chakra – the chakra from the Nine-Tails. With the additional strength, he leaped towards Gaara.

" _What?!_ " Gaara thought, eyes widening before calling up the sand and grabbing Naruto by the wrists.

Naruto growled, "I…"

"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!" Naruto screamed, smashing his forehead into Gaara's with a loud crack. Gaara's eyes went blank as blood poured down his forehead.

Shikamaru, Sasuke, Kankuro, and Temari watched as the sand cracked and fell off of Gaara, causing both Gaara and Naruto fall to the ground, with a hard crack. They ran over to their comrade's fallen bodies' as Gaara and Naruto panted from exhaustion.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted, running over with Sasuke and a freed, but unconscious Sakura. Naruto's tired eyes gazed at her, "…Sakura-chan."

Sasuke slowly walked up to Naruto, "…She's ok… Thanks to you." Naruto smiled at Sasuke – an actual, genuine smile. Naruto moved his head to face Gaara.

Gaara stared at him. He didn't know what to feel. Anger, pain, hopelessness…

Naruto pulled his body towards Gaara.

Gaara's eyes widened, "…No… Stay away from me!"

Naruto looked at him with sad and glossy eyes, "…I know that look… That feeling. I've been there, in that dark and lonely place. …But now there are others… Other people who mean a lot to me…" Naruto grunted, trying to move closer, "I care more about them… Then I do myself. And that's why I'll do anything to protect them – I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I won't lose to you… Even if I have to kill you!"

Gaara looked at him in shock, "…But why… Why would you do this for anyone, but yourself?"

"Because they saved me from myself… They're my friends!" Naruto coughed out with firmness.

" _Love… Is that… What makes him so strong?_ " Gaara thought.

Gaara closed his eyes before opening them and turning to his siblings, "We're done." Temari's and Kankuro's eyes widened slightly. " _He's done? I've… never seen this from him before._ " Kankuro thought, nodding to Gaara and pulling him up.

Kankuro, Temari and Gaara stood across from Shikamaru, Naruto and Sasuke, with Sakura still on the ground. Shikamaru shrugged, "…I suppose we should head back to the arena then, if we're all done here."

Temari smirked and was about to respond when a shadow from above interrupted them.

"Now, now. We are nowhere near done. After all, you all aren't dead."

They all looked up to see the Sand ANBU from earlier pass over.

"GYAHHH!" Gaara screamed.

Kankuro moved Gaara to the ground, "What is it Gaara?!"

Temari's eyes widened, "Kankuro! His neck!" Sticking out of his neck was a scalpel, glowing with chakra.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Gaara screamed again, this time louder and more painful. Both of the Sand siblings jumped back as the curse seal on Gaara's neck started to glow and grow rapidly.

Sasuke's eyes widened, jumping back to Sakura's body and picking her up, "That's the curse mark that was sealed on me, isn't it?!" Sasuke asked Shikamaru.

Shikamaru stared ahead and nodded slowly, completely terrified, " _If he goes back into that beast form…_ " He looked down at Naruto, who was struggling to move.

"GRYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gaara wailed this time, his body deforming differently than before. His skin turned black as dark red markings glowed around his face and arms. The sand formed around his body, giving him more girth, as the chakra pushed at the sand and air – causing a sandstorm.

Shikamaru put his arms in front of himself to defend against the blowing wind and sand.

Naruto pushed himself onto one arm, "Gaara! GAARA!" Naruto called out to him, trying to stop him from losing control.

Gaara stopped in his movements, the area stilling in an instance.

.

Everyone held their breaths, wondering if Naruto got through to him.

.

Eyes narrowed and focused on Naruto. In Gaara's black and deformed hand, dark red energy focused, forming into a ball.

"ARGGG!" Gaara growled out demonically, throwing the negative energy at Naruto.

.

Everything went slow.

.

Naruto's eyes widened, the red reflecting in his eyes.

.

"NAAARUTOOOO!" Sasuke called out, far away with Sakura.

.

The ground was pull up as the ball raged forward.

.

Naruto struggled to move, but couldn't.

.

He could feel the heat from the attack as it drifted closer.

.

His eyes dropped as he thought, " _…At least… Sakura-chan… Is ok…_ "

.

Naruto's eyes closed.

.

.

.

A loud crack was heard as blood spattered out on the sand below.

000000000000000000000000000000000

Tobirama stared at his former student as the battle between Orochimaru and Jiraiya continued ahead of them, "What is it that you ask of me?"

Hiruzen gave him a hard look, "…Leave this shell and return to your other body."

Tobirama's eyes narrowed, "This body is invulnerable to damage and I cannot die while in it. Leaving now would also diminish your chances of succeeding in your task – whatever that may be. For what purpose would returning to my former state aid you."

Hiruzen gave a firm look before focusing on Tobirama face, "It would not aid me." Tobirama started to question him when the Hokage spoke again, "But it will greatly aid the village. You cannot deny that that body is limited and cannot grow in strength as it has no potential."

The Senju closed his eyes, unwilling to agree, but know it to be the truth. Hiruzen continued, "I know it has been difficult, living as a child – a girl no less, but you cannot continue to deny your life as Nara Kanoko to be an illusion."

Hiruzen looked ahead, "You have a family – a different one, but a father, mother and brother who care deeply for you – as I know you do them. You have teammates who depend on you and care for you." He spoke lower, "…Are you really prepared to put them through the pain of losing someone they love? That body cannot last long without your soul inside it – it will die."

Tobirama gave him a blank look, " _Who's to say my other body would die without a soul? It's not as though we have ever tested such a thing._ "

Hiruzen continued, "As Tobirama, you wouldn't be able to help them as you would Kanoko. What if they die because you were not there to help them, be it physically, emotionally, or intellectually?"

Tobirama closed his eyes in irritation, " _I understand what he is saying… But at the same time, I could do more good for the village in the state than in my other form._ "

"…But for how long? Would the short term benefit be worth the long term consequences?" Hiruzen asked, anticipating his sensei's argument.

Tobirama took a moment to think about his student's words and logic. Each option had its risks, and in either case, he would find little peace. But again, to Tobirama, this body was his own. It was the first body he grew into and trained to perfection. He won many wars in this body and even help build the Hidden Leaf Village.

The body of a young girl from an average clan, with no particular hidden abilities, left him doubting it's potential.

Tobirama opened his eyes to stare at Hiruzen before shaking his head, "Forgive me. I cannot-"

Tobirama stopped suddenly, his eyes wide and his pupils becoming small dots. He slowly brought his hand up to his chest, his hand firmly grasping at the armor over his chest. He felt his whole body go cold as his heart dropped – feeling a type a dread, he has only felt once before.

 _Flashback_

 _Kanoko gave her father an annoyed look. Her eyes rapidly gazed over the papers on the desk, pushing some around to get a better look. She looked up again at her father and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again to silently berate him._

 _Shikaku sighed dramatically at his daughter, "…Between you and your mother, I'm not going to live very long, am I?" He finished, rubbing his face from the stress._

 _Kanoko just gave him a blank stare._

 _Sighing again, he decided to press, "Come on Noko-chan. What is it?"_

 _Kanoko's face scrunched up in disgust at her father's nickname before telling him plainly, "Your system, if you can even call it that, follows no rhyme or reason. You have paperwork on tactics mixed with logistics and there are no numbers on these pages – designating any order." Kanoko picked up some papers and started moving them into piles before continuing, "There is no reason to disregard proper structure and regulation. This is the basis in forming ideal and efficient work habits, which will in turn cause excellent work productivity."_

 _Shikaku opened his mouth to defend himself, but Kanoko gave him a stern look, "Do not give me excuses for your bad habits. Should you chose to do better, you shall."_

 _Her father crossed his arms with a frown and muttered, "Just who is the child and who is the parent in this relationship… Getting talked down to by a ten year old…"_

 _Kanoko gave him an annoyed look, holding papers in her arms and organizing the work when suddenly the papers dropped from her arms._

 _Confused, Shikaku looked up at his daughter and asked her what was wrong when he saw her face._

 _Her eyes were wide and he could barely make out her pupils. Suddenly her eyes focused and turned dark. Before he could even move, she was out the door, running faster than he ever saw from her. He quickly followed her, catching up._

" _Kanoko! Kanoko! Answer me!" He barked at her, reaching out to grab her, but she jumped into a tree. Shikaku looked ahead and realized that they were coming into the Nara lands – moving in the direction of their home._

 _He felt a lump form in his throat. He hoped that his paranoia was just playing tricks on him, and Kanoko was simply being her weird self._

 _Shikaku quickly picked her up before they moved past the final trees before their home. She struggled in his arms before telling him aggressively, "You release me right now!"_

 _Shikaku frown before giving his daughter a harsh look, "No. You will tell me what is going on._ _ **Now.**_ "

 _Kanoko kept her eyes firmly on the direction their house was in before swiftly kicking her father in the knee and breaking his grasp. Hitting the ground, she took off in the direction of the Nara's house again._

 _Cursing lowly, Shikaku quickly followed after her, jumping past the trees and following her into the house. His eyes were moving rapidly around, looking for threats as he saw Kanoko stop in the middle of the house, eyes glazed over, before ripping open several cabinets and grabbing handful of medical supplies._

 _He slowly approached her before she took off again, this time out the back door and into the woods behind them. As they traveled towards the field commonly used by the clan's deer, his eyes focused on a familiar figure ahead. He could see Yoshino kneeling on the ground, her body moving slightly._

 _As they got closer, he saw a small body lying on the ground in front of her._

" _Shikamaru!" Shikaku thought, his body stiffening and his heart dropping._

 _As they approached, Kanoko quickly fell to her feet and started wrapping Shikamaru's bleeding head._

" _Yoshino! What happened?" Shikaku almost barked, but controlled himself. His wife had tears running down her face as she held onto her son's bleeding wound. She struggled to speak, but stumbled out, "D-D-Deer… He was… He was feeding the deer… When…" She started huffing uncontrollably._

 _There was so much blood._

 _Shikaku moved his wife out of the way to survey the damage to his son and help Kanoko clot the wound._

" _We need to transport him to the hospital." Shikaku told his daughter calmly, moving her hands away so he could pick up his son._

 _Kanoko nodded silently, watching as her father gently picked up Shikamaru . Once he was on his feet, he teleported away with a cloud of smoke, leaving Kanoko and Yoshino to wallow in silence._

 _Kanoko looked at her bloody hands, and she thought – void of all emotion, "How many times… Must I wear the blood of my brothers…?"_

 _End Flashback_

Tobirama raised his hands, eyes still wide. Even though there wasn't anything on his hands, he could see it: The blood. His brothers' blood.

Kawarama's blood.

Itama's blood.

Hashirama's blood.

And now…

Shikamaru's blood.

.

Tobirama's face turned back into an emotionless one before his eyes focused on Hiruzen, "…Should our paths cross again, I hope they are under better conditions."

Hiruzen laughed, "I doubt it, but the thought is appreciated." He paused, turning back to the fight ahead, "…Sensei. Take care of yourself and those important to you."

Tobirama nodded slightly to his student, staring at his fleeing back as paper started to crumble off of him and flowing gently in the wind.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Her eyes snapped open as she inhaled loudly.

"Kanoko!" She heard her mother call her name, sounding broken.

Turning over onto her side, Kanoko wheezed out from the pain in her back, " _Just what the hell happened to my body?!_ "

"Hold on! Your body's not fully healed!" A medic yelled at her. She gave him a harsh glare before staggering to her feet.

"NARA KANOKO! YOU GET OFF YOUR FEET THIS INSTANCE AND LET THE MEDICS TAKE CARE OF YOU!" Her mother bellowed at her.

Kanoko merely shrugged her off and stepped around her, looking for her sword.

Shikaku raced over, "Kanoko… Listen to your mother, sh-" He stopped when he saw the deadly look in her eyes.

Kanoko reached a hand out onto her father's shoulder, "…Forgive me, but Shikamaru needs me." With that, Kanoko's arm lit up, stealing her father's chakra. He grunted, stepping back and away from Kanoko.

She had gotten what she needed, so she wasn't concerned.

Her eyes turned to the medics working on the injured. She quickly scanned the crowd before finding a suitable medical ninja. She picked him up by the collar.

"What… Wait a minute!" He exclaimed.

Without another thought, she quickly formed a seal, " _Flying Thunder god Jutsu!_ " She thought, teleporting away.

.

"What just happened?" Inoichi asked, coming up to support his friend.

Shikaku's eyes were wide with disbelief before using his friend to stand up straight, "…I'm not sure… But I have an idea…" Shikaku looked at the sky, " _And I hope I'm wrong… Shikamaru…_ "

00000000000000000000000000

Naruto opened his eyes, when he didn't feel anything.

But when he did…

…He wish he hadn't.

.

Standing before him, protecting him from the blast, was Nara Shikamaru.

.

"S-Shika-SHIKAMARU!" Naruto screamed as he watch Shikamaru's body fall forward, blood flying off of his body and dyeing the sand below a dark red color.

Naruto pushed his body forward, willing it to work. He crawled over to Shikamaru and flipped him over with a grunt.

His eyes widened, " _So..So much blood…_ " His eyes started to water, "Why? Why did you…? You and Kanoko both… Why?"

Shikamaru's eyes were groggy as they moved slowly to Naruto's, "I… Don't know… I guess… I just didn't want to see… A friend die… Even if I do think… Your annoying…" He coughed, eyes rolling back as he groggily mumbled, "And troublesome…"

"SHIKAMARU!" Naruto screamed in a high pitch voice, "NO! YOU HAVE TO STAY WITH ME!"

Tears started flowing down Naruto's face before his attention was diverted to the red and black swirling energy in front of him.

"GYAHHHH!" Gaara cried, holding his head as he tried to control the seal, but failing.

.

Sasuke's eyes were fixed on the scene before him: Shikamaru dying, Naruto crying, Gaara out of control… He looked to Sakura and Pakkun, "What do we do?"

Pakkun opened his mouth to answer when another presence appeared next to Sasuke.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked back, "Kakashi."

Kakashi looked ahead, his Sharingan open, "The curse seal… It's active."

Sasuke nodded, "A Sand ANBU activated it. Naruto had already beaten Gaara when the ANBU attacked."

Kakashi nodded, before looking at Naruto. His eyes widened when he focused on the limp body in Naruto's arms, " _No…!_ " He quickly flickered over to Naruto's position.

Naruto sniffed looking up at his sensei, "S-Sensei! Shika-Shikamaru! He's…!"

Kakashi's eyes softened at Naruto's tear stained face before pulling out some of his medical supplies and working on Shikamaru's wound.

"Can, can you save him?!" Naruto asked, trying to calm himself down.

Kakashi stared at Shikamaru's wound, "I'm… I'm going to try Naruto…"

"YOU HAVE TO!" Naruto wailed at him, his eyes turning to Gaara's form and narrowing. Growling, Naruto slowly struggled to his feet.

" **You will pay for hurting my friends…!** " Naruto growled out demonically.

Kakashi's eyes widened, "No! Naruto!"

Sasuke also yelled to him, "Naruto! Stop! You don't have any chakra left!"

Naruto's eyes turned cold, "Then I'll use **its** charka."

"No Naruto! In your current state, you could lose control and then we'll be in even more trouble." Kakashi told him firmly.

Naruto growled, "I won't-"

" **Listen to him, Naruto.** "

Everyone's eyes whipped around to the dark voice.

"Kanoko!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kanoko shoved the medic at Shikamaru before turning her cold eyes on him, "If he doesn't live… Neither do you."

The medic's eyes went wide before quickly running over to Shikamaru and working on his wound.

Kakashi moved out of the way for the medic to work before turning to Kanoko and asking her tentatively, "Don't you think you're being a bit cold?"

Kanoko moved past him, as her eyes, void of all emotion, landed on Gaara's struggling form. She flared her chakra before pulling out two scrolls.

Throwing the first on the ground, she stepped on it, activating it and sending the Nine-Tails chakra she gathered, into her body. Her chakra turned dark orange as she place the second scroll in her mouth.

She quickly formed hand signs, " _Infinite Darkness Jutsu_." Black covered that entire area around her and Gaara, leaving all those effect blind to their surroundings.

The only thins those outside the jutsu could only see a black ball in front of them.

Gaara called out in rage and pain before Kanoko appeared behind him, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Shadow Possession Jutsu." A clone of Kanoko extended her shadow to Gaara, trapping him in place. He fought the hold and it took everything the clone had to hold him down while the real Kanoko worked.

The real Kanoko moved in and thrusted her hand into his back, sucking his chakra out. Kanoko's eyes narrowed as she winced, " _I have never been more grateful in creating this seal… To convert a demon's chakra and the cursed chakra at the same time is asking a lot…_ " Kanoko grunted and the continuous chakra flooding to her, " _Even so… This is_ _ **too much!**_ _"_

A third Kanoko appeared in front of him and pulled out another scroll, "Sealing Technique: Spirit Sealing!"

"GYAAAH!" Gaara cried, as his soul was pulled from his body roughly and painfully. The clone quickly finished the seal before popping away. The clone hold the shadow possession also popped away.

Kanoko fell to the ground, panting heavily. She turned her eyes to her shoulder, as she held it in pain. Chakra had started to escape the seal's confinements and started bleeding into her skin, burning it as it travelled.

Stumbling over to the scroll as Gaara's lifeless body dropped, she quickly got to work – it would only be a matter of time before the tailed beast realized that the vessel's soul has departed. Her hands moved rapidly over Gaara's body, placing her hand over his body and using the chakra she stole to add additional layers to the Jinchuriki's seal.

The chakra sealed behind flared out at her. The beast was beginning to awaken and as proof, Gaara's body started collecting sand. Kanoko cursed, her eyes dropping due to her rapidly depleting reserves. She struggled to push out more chakra, but succeed in matching the old seal to the new seal – taught to her by Hashirama's wife – an Uzumaki.

The sand fell from his body as the seal solidified.

Sitting back, sweat pouring down her face, Kanoko moved over to her scroll. She activated it and removed Gaara's soul, placing it back into his body – which was now removed of its curse mark.

Kanoko brought her hands together, " _Release._ "

The blackness moved away from her and Gaara.

"Kanoko!" "Gaara!"

Kakashi ran towards Kanoko as Gaara's siblings ran towards him.

Gaara's eyes slowly opened. Temari kneeled down to him, "…Gaara… Are you ok?"

Gaara looked at his sister, thinking for a moment before nodding, "Yes… That curse mark… It's gone."

Temari and Kankuro turned to Kanoko in surprise before Kakashi picked her up and brought her back to Naruto's and Shikamaru's location.

When she was placed on the ground, her eyes went straight for Shikamaru. She turned to the medic, but this time, without her cold demeanor. Her eyes softened, "How is he?"

The medic looked a bit nervous, but could sense Kanoko's calm, "…Yes. The blast was fatal, but luckily… With Hatake-san applying first aid right away and the quick medical support, I expect him to make a full recovery."

Kanoko smiled warmly, "Good… Thank you…"

And that was the last thing she said before passing out for a good long nap.

Just before she drifted off, she thought, " _I just wish I could have saved you too… Hiruzen…_ "

.

* * *

 **Author's Note: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS!**

 **I get so excited when my phone "dings" with an email and I see it's a review! You guys are just amazingly awesome! Again, your thoughts play a huge part in my story – forming ideas and fixing issues that may crop up. And I LOVE to hear about what parts you love the most. I literally can't even explain how awesome it feels to read such encouraging reviews!**

 **I will continue to work on this story after work and on the weekends, and I'm going to try to make the chapters a little shorter so I can update more often!**

 **Thank you again and I hope this chapter came out readable and enjoyable. So much is going on that I agonize over its fluidity.**


	24. Chapter 23

He stared at her from his bed. He couldn't move much – not that he really wanted to, but the beds were close to each other in the same medical room. If he reached out, he could probably touch her arm.

He continued to stare as he watched sleep – not really a foreign site for him. Her hair was sprawled out on the pillow, and she was lying on her back. Her left arm was heavily bandaged and he had seen the medics check on it several times. He wished they would talk louder, so he could hear.

Right now, it was only the two of them in the room and he was grateful that she was sleeping.

He didn't know what he would say to his sister.

Shikamaru woke up a few days ago, but was still fragile from the attack and was not allowed to leave his bed. His teammates had come in that day, and every day after, to check on him, chat, and tell him the scope of what was happening outside these four walls.

He remember being shocked and sad when they softly told him about the Third Hokage. Apparently the Hokage gave his life to seal away the leader of the enemy forces, with the help of the sannin: Jiraiya. And with the death of its leader, the Sound pulled out of Suna – or at least, what was left of its forces.

Asuma-sensei told him that they were helping Suna with wounded and getting all the civilians, who were visiting for the Chunin Exams, home or out of the town while the Sand rebuilt. A large section of Suna's wall was obliterated in Naruto's fight with Gaara and the main section of town had crumbled from the summoned snakes and battling ninjas.

Gathering up the courage, Shikamaru finally asked tentatively about his sister, who hadn't stirred once since he woke up. His father was in the room at the time and asked his team to leave, to give him and Shikamaru privacy. Shikamaru had felt his heart dropped, expecting to hear the worst – that she wasn't going to wake up. Ever again.

When the door finally shut, his father told him about the condition Choji's father found her in and how she was barely healed before running to his rescue.

Shikamaru was completely floored.

He knew that the two of them had this weird bond where they could tell when the other needed them, but also knew that Kanoko ignored the bond most of the time. Or at least… He thought she did. Shikamaru's attention was diverted back to his father when he saw the serious look on his face. Shikamaru didn't understand the problem – outside the fact that his sister had pushed herself past her limits. It really wasn't a surprise to him. She did it all the time.

When he questioned his father, he sighed, explaining that she used too much chakra while simultaneously absorbing more than she could handle. Her left arm was completely burned and the chakra points were damaged severely. On top of that, her stab wounds were not completely healed when she went into battle with Gaara and as a result, reopened them.

To summarize: She was suffering from a severe case of chakra exhaustion, her arm completely destroyed, and suffered internal bleeding.

Shikamaru felt cold as his heart dropped.

For so long, Kanoko has been cold, indifferent, and distant. She would crack a smile or smirk here or there – followed up by some smart remark, but when it came to it, Kanoko didn't hug, didn't say she loved anyone, didn't cry… She never even rebelled or thrown a tantrum. She accepted things as they were and went about her way.

Shikamaru was always trying different things to get some sort of emotion out of her.

.

She didn't even cuddle.

.

What kind of girl doesn't cuddle?

.

Ok, maybe he's holding that one against her out of his own irritation that she refuses to cuddle with him, but they were twins! Twins cuddle!

.

.

Back to the point…

He knew that she was always there for him. If he needed help, she would always be around to support him in any way. Even though he was born first, she always acted like the older sibling. Like she had been through all this before and she was willing to help him through the rough patches.

He focused in on her expressionless and sleeping face.

He still didn't believe she would put herself through so much, just to save him…

He smiled slightly, " _…I think I'm finally starting to understand you._ " And with that thought, he closed his eyes, hoping the next time he opens them, he will see his sister up and trying to escape the hospital – as she is prone to do.

He chuckled quietly before falling to sleep.

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Bright rays from the sun streamed through the shades on the window, flooding the room with warmth and light. Outside, the birds were chirping lightly as the leaves danced in the wind.

Kanoko's eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times at the light. She twitched and strength her muscles before shifting her head to look around the room. She vaguely recognized the surroundings, having visiting Konoha's hospital a few times.

"… _When did I get in Konoha?_ " Kanoko's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, trying to recall her most recent memories.

"So you finally woke up… I was starting to get worried." A dull voice drawled out in a rough and deep tone.

Pulling her from her thoughts, Kanoko looked up at the voice.

Shikaku sat down on the stool next to his daughter's bed and gave her a blank look. Kanoko returned it with an annoyed look before asking, "What-"

"We need to talk." Shikaku told her firmly, disregarding her question.

Kanoko closed her mouth to stare at Shikaku suspiciously. She waited for him to speak, not willing to show weakness in this conversation.

Shikaku leaned back, crossing his arms, "…I honestly don't even know where to begin. I always knew you would be an exceptional ninja as you were such a unique child – even by Nara standards." He paused, closing his eyes, "Your hard work and determination is clearly a reflection of your mother and your intellect and paranoia is something I know comes from me."

Shikaku stared into his daughter's eyes, "…But that doesn't explain everything else – and if you think I never noticed, then you must think very poorly of me."

Kanoko's eyes held his firmly. Outside, she looked cool and controlled – but inside, her heart was beating so fast, she thought it would just pop out. Kanoko exhaled deeply through her nose before speaking, "...I-"

She was interrupted again from her father's hand in the air, indicating that she stop.

"I don't want to know. Not this way." He paused, "…I want you to come to me when you are ready." Shikaku looked out the window, "I have never once questioned your loyalty to the village." His eyes moved to Kanoko, "…And I know how much you love us, your family – even if you rarely show it." Shikaku finished with a smirk at Kanoko's embarrassed face.

She returned his look with an annoyed one.

Shikaku chuckled lowly before turning serious again, "…But you can't do that again… Using a move like that." He sighed, a hand rubbing his forehead, "I can't even begin to imagine where you learned the Fourth's secret technique…" He gave her a bored and annoyed look – something only a Nara could pull off, "…You're lucky that Minato was a good friend of mine… I was able to convince the others that you stole the notes he left me and taught yourself his jutsu – something that should be out of your league." He finished, giving her a harsh look.

Kanoko's eye twitched, " _Out of my league...! I made that stupid jutsu! IT'S MY JUTSU!_ " Kanoko stewed a bit at such an accusation while her father just sighed, having seen that same sizzling look on his wife's face many times.

He rubbed his face again, "…Kanoko. You need to listen to me. This is serious."

Kanoko just gave him a dull look, but nodded, asking him to continue.

Shikaku leaned in close to her, giving her a dead serious look, "Kanoko. You can never use a jutsu like that again. **Do you understand**?"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "…No. I don't…" Kanoko really didn't understand. She knew why she was stopping herself from using it more often: The risk that her true identity would be revealed, but that clearly wasn't the case here.

Her father just leaned back, exhaling through his nose, his eyes sharpening, "Even the whisper of that jutsu spreads fear through our enemies… And even some of our allies and comrades. The Fourth used that jutsu to wipe out an entire battle field… If others were to know of your knowledge of it…"

Shikaku's voice dropped an octave, "Kanoko. You are not strong enough yet to defend yourself from such an overwhelming attack. Ninjas as strong as our Hokages will come for you – taking out everyone in their way."

His eyes turned sad, as he looked away, ashamed, "Kanoko-chan… Even I am not strong enough to protect you, if knowledge got out."

Kanoko's eyes were wide, " _…I had no idea… They… Don't talk about the battles fought by the Fourth Hokage… Could this be why?_ " Kanoko took a moment to ponder her knowledge of the time in between her death and her second birth – she clearly did not know enough.

Shikaku placed a hand on hers before looking her in the eye, "Kanoko. Promise me, under no circumstance, will you ever use that jutsu again."

Kanoko stared bewildered at him before turning away, " _I can't promise that… What if I need to use it? …But he's right… If the risk is truly that great…_ " Her fists tightening in the sheets, " _I need to get stronger._ "

Turning her gaze back to her father, she nodded slightly.

Shikaku sighed in relief, "…I'm glad you understand." His eyes softened with pride, a small smile on his face, "And Kanoko… I want you to know how proud I am of you." His smile grew, "How you fight, how you think, how you'll push yourself to protect those important to you… You're everything a father could ever want in a daughter."

Kanoko's cheeks went pink as she shoved her face into the pillow, completely embarrassed.

Shikaku chuckled, rubbing her head and ruffling her hair.

He stepped back and walked to the door. When he placed his hand on the handle, he looked back and smirked, "Oh… And sorry about this."

Kanoko turned her face away from the pillow to look up at her father with a questionable look.

He just opened the door and walked out, not explaining.

Kanoko huffed lowly, before closing her eyes to get some more sleep.

.

.

.

"KKKKKKAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOKKKKKKKOOOOOO!"

Her eyes grew to the size of saucers before a bone crushing weight fell on her back.

"ACK!" She coughed out at the pain.

"NAAAARUTOOOO!" Sakura cried, jumping on Naruto and pulling at his face.

"OOOOFF!" Kanoko winced.

"What?! DOG PILE!" Kiba screamed, running up to the bed and diving on top.

"GYAH!" The female Nara cried out again, arms struggling to break free and kill one of them.

"WHAT IS THIS? A SYMBOLISM OF YOUTHFUL PASSION! WHY WAS I NOT INVITED?!" Lee wailed, bouncing off the walls before landing on Kiba.

Kanoko's mouth was wide open, but not sound escaped. She just lay there, screaming silently as she brother lazily walked into her gaze.

Her eyes focused on him in hope, "Shikamaru… Help…"

Shikamaru gave her a bored look, looking at the fighting bodies on top of her, before sticking a finger in his ear and removing wax from it.

" _Stupid… Little… Piece of shit…_ " Kanoko thought angrily at her brother's betrayal.

Shikamaru crossed his arms, giving her a dull look before speaking, "Maybe next time you won't try to kill yourself by pushing yourself past your limits."

Kanoko frowned, " _Well sorry for saying your ungrateful ass! For goodness sakes, he is just as bad as Hashirama! Stupid brothers and their passive aggressive ways!_ "

"Ok guys… Off of Kanoko. She should be still in a lot of pain." Kanoko heard the wise and logical voice of one Kakashi-sensei.

"Sorry…" They all mumbled getting off of Kanoko and moving back as Kakashi approached her.

Kakashi gave her a soft look, "You really over did it. Trust me when I say, that says a lot, coming from me." Kanoko raised an eyebrow, struggling to sit up.

"You need to take it easy. The medics can tell you more, but you used your chakra passed its capabilities and you somehow managed to burn all the chakra points in your left arm." Kakashi continued. Kanoko looked at her arm and noticed that it was difficult to move. Her eyes dulled slightly as she pulled back the bandages to survey the damage.

From what she could see, her arm was a nice dark red color from the chakra that had burned her skin, " _Yeah… That wasn't one of my smartest ideas…_ "

Kakashi nodded, sensing her thoughts, before continuing, "But you're ok now and from what the medics tell me, you should make a complete recovery…"

Kakashi trailed off as the door slammed open – a dark and haunting aura flooding the room.

Those in the room quickly backed up to the furthest point away and those in the hall dashed the other way.

*STOMP STOMP*

Kanoko fumbled, as she tried to fling her body out the window – hopefully to her death.

"…You….. I expect this behavior from my good for nothing husband…. Even my lazy-ass son, who is just like his father….."

Shikamaru quickly dashed behind Kakashi – who was still trapped in the room as well.

*STOMP STOMP*

"…..But you….. My daughter….. The only glimmer of sanity I had left in my life….. **YOU** decide to go and pull this…."

Yoshino stomped towards Kanoko's bed, face promising pain as her fists turned white. Kanoko quickly closed her eyes, hoping Yoshino would be merciful and give her a quick death.

Yoshino's eyes started to water before she sniffed and pulling her daughter into a bone crushing bear hug.

Kanoko squeaked at the loss of air circulation.

"I was so scared! You had so much blood on you! And then you get up and **run away**! I was completely beyond myself in worry and then that silver haired, perverted book reading sensei of yours brought you back – unconscious and worse off than before!"

Kakashi sweat-dropped, hold his hand out to defend himself when Shikamaru shook his head roughly at Kakashi – warning him against further angering the Nara monarch.

Yoshino tightened her hold, hiccupping from her crying, "Kanoko… Please don't do that to me… Your mother's heart can't take it…"

Kanoko's eyes widened before softening and wrapping her arms around her mother's shaking form. Kanoko knew she couldn't make a promise like that, so instead, she held onto her mother – comforting her the best she could.

" _I can't promise you won't see me like this again, but I will do everything in my power to stay alive._ " Kanoko's gaze moved from her mother, to her smiling brother, up to her aloof sensei, down to her chuckling teammates and onto the soft eyes of her father – who was holding the door open.

Kanoko nodded to him, " _…I promise to live for all of you."_

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A few days later…

"…And then I jumped up and got him right in the face with an Uzumaki special!" Naruto cheered before slurping down more ramen.

Kanoko just nodded, listening to Naruto's recount of the fight between him and Gaara of the Sand.

"Of course, the epic battle wasn't done yet. We were falling as the sand crumbled, when-"

"Well, I guess it is true! The only thing you eat is ramen!"

Kanoko and Naruto turned at the voice interrupting Naruto, "Pervy-sage!" Naruto exclaimed.

Jiraiya stopped suddenly, mouth open before narrowing his eyes and asking Naruto suspiciously, "…You haven't been calling me that over any important – possibly the Hokage's – graves, have you?"

Naruto stared at him like he was crazy, "What?"

Jiraiya shook his head, rubbing his chin and mumbling, "…It just doesn't make any sense…"

Kanoko turned a little pink before speaking loudly to change the conversation, "Jiraiya-sannin. How can we be of service?"

Jiraiya was pulled from his thoughts and looked down at the kids again, "Oh yeah. I wanted to steal this one, I have an important mission to complete and I was looking for a second."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow while Jiraiya pointed to Naruto, "You need Naruto… For an important mission?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his teammate, not liking her tone, before turning to Jiraiya, "No way! You're _important missions_ are just you peeking in on woman in the bath." Naruto turned back to his ramen, taking a large bite.

Kanoko's eyes narrowed at Jiraiya, her aura darkening, "…Peeping again…" She cracked her knuckles as a warning. Jiraiya held out a hand with a small look of panic, "No! Really! It's an important mission to find a very special woman."

Naruto opened his mouth to insult Jiraiya when Kanoko beat him, "You… Need a little boy to find yourself a wife…" Kanoko turned around to her food, "… How completely pitiful."

Jiraiya fell to the ground, creating a small dust cloud. Naruto abandoned his ramen to point and laugh at his sensei, "Hahaha! She got you there, pervy-sage!"

Jiraiya quickly jumped to his feet, "I hate both of you…"

"Get in line…" Kanoko answered without a care, Naruto nodded at her statement.

Naruto looked at Jiraiya again, "Anyways, I'm busy training."

Jiraiya gave Naruto a dull look, "Ha! Training! How so?"

Naruto growled, "Hey, don't mock my training! And if you must know, Kanoko is going to teach me some of her awesome jutsus!"

Kanoko's head jerked up and faced Naruto, "…I am?"

Naruto ignored her as he crossed his arms at Jiraiya. Jiraiya laughed at him, "Please… I can teach you jutsus that are much cooler than anything your genin teammate knows."

Kanoko's eye twitched at the insult.

Naruto gave him an unimpressed look with an eyebrow raised, "Can you appear out of thin air, cover the area in darkness, steal chakra, seal souls, create massive bombs, manipulate water, spit out fire, create wind needles, and trap people with shadows?"

.

.

.

Jiraiya's shocked face slowly moved to Kanoko, who was trying to sneak away. He sputtered out, trying to find his words.

" _You know… Maybe I should dial it back a few notches…_ " Kanoko thought, suddenly feeling uncomfortable by all the attention.

Shaking his head and turning back to Naruto, he begged, "Come on kid! I need you for this mission! No one else will do. I'll even teach you a jutsu that can defeat that Uchiha's Chidori!"

That caught Naruto's attention.

Kanoko used the distraction to slip away quickly, before she was "volunteered" for anything.

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He slammed his fist down onto his desk as he sat behind it, shaking with uncontrolled anger, " _How_ _ **dare**_ _they choose that_ _ **buffoon**_ _as our next Hokage!_ " He grabbed his cane as he pulled himself up. He quickly made his way through the door and down the hall of his underground complex.

" _The only thing he is remotely good for is espionage. He doesn't have what it takes to become Hokage – not when he continues to gallivant around and teaching his secrets to children of foreign villages!_ " The older man finally made his way to the surface before taken a deep breath in order to calm himself down.

" _Forthcoming shinobi must suppress their emotions and create suitable rules that they then follow._ " He told to himself, quoting his deceased sensei. The man looked up at the sky, " _If sensei could see the village now… He would be proud._ " He frowned, " _But if he knew I stood back and did nothing while the village elects a leader who will lead to Konoha's destruction…_ " His fists tightened as he gritted his teeth, " _…He would be so disappointed in me._ "

He exhaled as he entered a tea shop with private rooms. Stepping into a roomed reserved for him, he sat down and took a sip of his team – after checking for poisons. " _I will simply have to… Get in the way._ " He thought before the door slid open, revealing his guest.

"Danzo. Why have you called me?" The tall, scarred, and imposing man spoke coldly, walking into the room.

Danzo motioned to the seat in front of him, "Blunt and straight to the point as always, Rokumaru. Quite the disappointment to your clan, I imagine."

Rokumaru narrowed his eyes at his old classmate, "Do not speak to me about the Nara clan."

Danzo shrugged, turning the conversation to his true intent, understanding Nara Rokumaru's patience to be very thin, "I asked you here to talk about the future of the village."

Rokumaru scoffed, "Then my answer is no. I will not take part in the pitiful battle you have started with my son. He's barely a man, and yet you struggle against him. Pathetic."

Danzo tightened his hand around his cup, growling slightly at Rokumaru's insult, "…You have to understand. Shikaku supports Jiraiya in becoming the Fifth Hokage – and where he places his vote, the jounin follow."

Rokumaru crossed his arms with an annoyed look, "And you want me to convince my son against such actions." Rokumaru grunted, "Too bad Danzo. My son doesn't listen to me and I don't care enough to make him listen."

Danzo spoke firmly, with narrowed eyes, "You should. The Hokage can have a great impact on one's clan."

Rokumaru rolled his eyes, "Really? I had no idea… I completely bought your little fairytale about a teenager wiping out his whole clan in the middle of the night - an extremely powerful clan with an equally powerful kekkei genkai."

Danzo's eye twitched in irritation. He opened his mouth to speak before Rokumaru interrupted, "Do not take me for a fool Shimura. I am both older and smarter than you. You are setting up the board for a takeover of your own. Why? I cannot even fathom. You would lose all the power that you currently hold." Rokumaru paused to give him a hard look, "Becoming such a prominent figure is not in your nature. Accept what you are."

Danzo looked up at Rokumaru, silent for a moment, "…What are you planning?"

Rokumaru raised an eyebrow, "What are you on about now?"

Danzo's eyes thinned as he frowned, "Coming here when you have already decided and trying to dissuade me from the Hokage's position – something I agree holds no interest to me, outside that fact that I do not like the fools that fill it." Danzo paused, "…You're making a power play. I just can't understand why… Or how…"

Rokumaru smirked, "If you thought like this when fighting my son in a battle of wits, perhaps you could win a few matches."

Danzo grabbed his cane and stood up, "…To be so indifferent about the Hokage's position…" Danzo's eyes widened, "You want it for yourself!" He paused to narrow his eyes again, "…But you have to know that your son will never support such a cruel and wicked man as the Hokage – he's seen firsthand your brutal nature."

Rokumaru shrugged, "Keep trying to figure it out Shimura. Perhaps one day you'll figure it out." Rokumaru turned to the door, but before exiting, he spoke with a low chuckle, "Oh course, by then, it will be too late."

Danzo glared at the Nara's back as he left, " _How Shikaku even survived being raised by that man will forever remain a mystery._ "

Shimura Danzo closed his eyes while exhaling through his nose, " _This changes nothing…_ _I will not allow one of Hiruzen's students to become the Hokage._ "

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Sleep was important…

…To Shikamaru, that is.

His sister saw sleep as a commodity. If you have time for it, great; if not, oh well. To Shikamaru, it was as essential as eat or drinking… Maybe even more so.

So when the blankets were roughly ripped off of him before the sun even thought about rising, he was a little annoyed. Scratch that, really annoyed.

In retaliation, he just snuggled his face into his sister's back, trying to steal her warmth. Kanoko simply grunted in annoyance before opening her eyes to look up at the intruder – who she already knew to be her father.

Kanoko was still groggy and wasn't sure why her father was waking them up so early, but assumed it was an order from her mother. Why? She didn't know.

" **UP**." Shikaku told them firmly.

Not one to disobey an order, Kanoko sat up before getting out of bed, pulling a groaning Shikamaru – who was attached to her – with her. Shikamaru picked himself off the floor and whined at his father, "What does Kaa-san want with us so early?"

Shikaku crossed his arms, "Your mother doesn't need anything. Your training starts now."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Training? But… Don't we normally do that in the evening?" Kanoko asked, a little on edge. She had never seen her father act this way. It reminded her of her first father – Senju Butsuma.

As if to prove her point, Shikaku just narrowed his eyes, "Enough questions. You are to be dressed in your ninja gear and in the backyard in five minutes or the consequences will be severe." When he finished, he popped away in a cloud of smoke.

"What the hell is his problem… Did Kaa-san make him sleep outside or something?" Shikamaru complained, moving slowly.

Kanoko shrugged, not sure either, "I don't know… But I'm not taking any chances." With that she quickly changed and walked out the door.

Shikamaru stared at his sister's back – deciding to move at his own pace. His father can wait. What's the worse he's going to do? Shikaku was completely whipped by their mother – he's harmless.

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Shikamaru panted as his lungs burned. He was moving forward as best as he could, but he had already lapped the village three times. His legs hurt, his lungs hurt, and his arms hurt.

Why do his arms hurt, you ask?

That would be because of the weight he is holding up on his back.

"You… Need… To… Lose… Weight…" Shikamaru gasped out at his sister.

Kanoko's eye twitched at him, "You are very lucky that I don't care – otherwise, you would be dead."

"Please… Please, put me out of my misery." Shikamaru drawled out.

"If you have the energy to talk, then you can go faster." Their father said, coming up from behind.

Shikamaru just moved a little faster, not willing to upset his father again. Once was enough to learn his lesson.

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Kanoko was currently sitting in the hospital. She was required to come by weekly for a checkup. The medic on staff worked around her, checking her blood pressure, chakra system, reflexes, etc.

"…Yep. Everything is coming along nicely." The medic muttered before turning back to Kanoko, "You still can't use chakra with your arm, but your reserves are developing nicely after the stress you put them through. The wounds you suffered in the attack are completely healed, with only slight scarring."

Kanoko nodded, "What do you estimate for my arm?"

The medic thought for a moment, "It's hard to say. You burned the chakra points completely. I am honestly surprised that they are healing at all. I can't give you an estimate. More than a month – maybe a year – I'm just not sure."

Kanoko nodded again before jumping off the bed and stretching slightly, "…Thank you."

The medic returned her pleasantries before releasing her.

Kanoko walked out of the hospital and in the direction of town. Her mind wondered as she made her way through the streets, " _I should go buy flowers…_ "

With that thought, Kanoko walked into the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

*Jingle*

The bells over the door rang as Kanoko stepped in, looking around at the vast array of colors. She sweat-dropped. She was a little overwhelmed by the selection. She slowly walked up to a shelf of flowers when her former classmate ran up to her.

"Kanoko! I'm surprised to see you in here!" Ino squealed, thinking Kanoko was finally becoming the girl she was meant to be.

Kanoko quickly burst her bubble by giving her a dull look and saying, "I just need a handful of flowers for a grave."

Ino pouted, "You sure know how to turn a conversation depressing quickly, don't you?" Ino sighed, getting little reaction from Kanoko before asking her, "What meaning do you want them to say?"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow.

Ino gave her a baffled look, "Didn't you learn anything from kunoichi class?"

"Nope." Kanoko said firmly. Not wanting to speak of the dreadful experience.

Sighing dramatically Ino continued, "Well, do you want to tell the person you're sorry or that you miss them? Something like that."

Kanoko shrugged, "…Sorry. And… Thank you."

"For what?" Ino asked, not following.

"I want the flowers to say sorry and thank you." Kanoko told her plainly.

"Oh! Got it! One second." Ino said, snapping her fingers and running away.

Kanoko sighed, before walking slowly to the counter and pulling out some money. When Ino came back, she exchanged the flower with Kanoko's coins. Kanoko grabbed them and politely thanked her before leaving out the door with another jingle from the bells.

Kanoko walked for a while with the flowers in her hand until she found herself standing before a grave with a large red flame statue on top. She bent down to place the flowers on the ground before standing up straight. She stared at the name, "Sarutobi Hiruzen: The Third Hokage".

"Thank you… Waking up to all of them… My friends and family. I would have regretted my choice, had you not convinced me otherwise. They are what is important to me now, and I will protect them with everything I have." Kanoko raised her head to the sky as the wind blew by, causing her bangs to fly to the side, " _Thank you teaching me, what I once taught you. To cherish those around you and to never let them down._ "

Kanoko smiled as she stood there for a few moments longer, simply watching the leaves dance in the wind.

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A few days later, Kanoko was walking back to her doctor for another checkup when she passed some gossiping nurses in the hall.

"Did you hear?"

"No. What is it?"

"The Uchiha. Maito Gai just brought him in and they say no one can wake him. His injuries were minor, but it's like someone put him in a genjutsu that he can't wake up from."

Kanoko's ears perked at the information. With a slight pause, Kanoko placed a hand on a nearby wall. She closed her eyes and pushed out her chakra. Her eyes snapped open, " _Found him._ "

Kanoko picked up her pace as she walked towards his room. She stopped before rounding the corner when she heard Maito Gai speaking with another jounin, "…The same jutsu Kakashi was hit with. The only hope we have of them waking up is Naruto and Jiraiya completing their mission."

Kanoko's eyes widened slightly, " _Kakashi-sensei too?_ "

"Do you know what jutsu he used at least? Maybe we can do some research on our end." The jounin responded. Maito Gai shook his head, "No. All I know is that Itachi used his Sharingan to do it."

" _An Uchiha! I could only think of one jutsu that would cause this damage..._ " Kanoko thought, about to turn and leave when she caught Gai say one more thing.

"We are just fortunate Jiraiya was there to protect Naruto. I can only think of one reason why a man like Itachi would be after Naruto…"

Kanoko stilled, mind blank. …After Naruto? Naruto was in danger? And no one stopped to tell her? Her fists clenched while she gritted her teeth. Why would they tell her? A little girl like her against a S-ranked ninja like Itachi… Naruto was in the best hands possible…

Still…

" _I already made a promise to protect my friends… Even the irritating ones with obnoxious voices._ " With determination, Kanoko quickly flickered home. She dashed into her room and grabbed her supplies. She raced down the stairs before stopping.

" _If I don't leave a note, they'll be worried._ " Kanoko thought, quickly jotting down her intent and her request not to be called back. With that, she took off into the forest. She stopped, suddenly, " _How to get out of the village without being tracked…_ " Her eyes shifted around, " _I could use the ANBU passage, but that could lead to more issues…_ "

Turning back to the Nara forest, she thought, " _That will work… Never thought I would be grateful to be born a Nara._ "

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Kanoko had been running most of the day and was starting to feel the burning in her lungs take its toll. She looked up from her crouched position, " _I can feel his chakra getting closer…_ " Her eyes caught a town in the distance, " _There…_ "

Kanoko straightened up again and starting making her way quickly towards the sounds of civilization.

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Naruto snickered as he held up two fried squids, looking around for his teacher. Naruto was in the best mood that he had been in, in a while and was excited to meet up with Jiraiya.

Unfortunately, when he found him…

Jiraiya was lounging on a couch, surrounded by beautiful women, and drinking booze.

All of Naruto's hard earned savings - gone.

Naruto leaped towards Jiraiya, making him spit out his sake. "I need a refresher! What were those prohibitions again?!" The ladies ran screaming as Naruto continued, "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" Naruto raised the squid other Jiraiya's head, like he was going to whack him with it, "You're breaking all three in one go, you dirty pervert!"

"Wait Naruto!" Jiraiya defended himself as Naruto started pounding him on the head, "I can't believe you spent all my hard earned cash! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!"

Naruto continued his assault as two men walked in. One in a white coat and another in a black coat. In Naruto's fight, one of the squids flew out of Naruto's grasp and spattered on the man's white coat.

"WATCH IT!" The bodyguard yelled at Naruto, "Look what you did, you little punk!"

Naruto and Jiraiya stopped to look back, "Huh?"

"That suit cost the boss 100 large! And you're going to pay for it!" The guy continued.

Naruto's jaw dropped, "What?! That suit cost a hundred thousand?!" His voice getting higher with each word.

"That's seems a little excessive." Jiraiya said plainly, not impressed.

"Shut your mouth old man, if you know what's good for you…" The man in white rasped out. His body guard followed up, "The boss used to be a chunin from the Hidden Village in the Stones – The legendary dark ninja… Feared across the lands!"

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Kanoko walked through the crowd, zoning in on Naruto's chakra signature when she came to the opening of some hut. She looked inside to see two men standing in her way, blocking her view of Naruto and Jiraiya.

"…chunin from the Hidden Village in the Stones – The legendary dark ninja… Feared across the lands!" She heard one of them utter, gesturing to the man with the white jacket.

" _Naruto… Finding trouble wherever he goes…_ " She thought with a dull look.

She was interrupted from her thought the man yelled, "You're asking for it!" She saw him move forward and assumed he was about to charge at Naruto.

With her eye twitching in annoyance, she ignored the gathering of chakra energy past them and walked behind the man, her sword pressed into his back.

"I can only guess what my friend did to make you angry, but know that I do not care and will skew you light a shish-kabob regardless." Kanoko spoke coldly.

Jiraiya cancelled his jutsu before crying out, "Come on! I was just about to do something really cool!"

"Kanoko!" Naruto shouted, ignoring his teacher and running to Kanoko, "What are you doing here?"

Kanoko shrugged, sword still firmly planted in the man's back before holding a normal conversation with Naruto, "Looking for you. You ran off without your teammates, or even giving us notice of your mission." Kanoko narrowed her eyes at him, "Clearly you have forgotten that it means to be a part of a team."

Naruto shook his head aggressively, "What?! No! I just… got distracted…" Naruto finished lamely, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey kid! Do you have any idea who you're messing with?!" The man in black yelled.

Kanoko gave him a dull look, "Some rouge chunin from the Stone Village. If that was even true, you still would be no match for me." Kanoko's face hardened, "Now leave before I make good on my threat."

The men clearly didn't believe her, so they moved to attack. Kanoko moved to slice their throats when Jiraiya stopped her, "Let me handle this."

Kanoko gave him and unimpressed look before shrugging and putting her sword away.

When Jiraiya finished and the man spat out information on Tsunade, they left the town, before finally stopping and making camp for the night. After everything was rolled out, Jiraiya turned to Kanoko.

" **You** are going back to the village tomorrow." He told her firmly.

Kanoko returned his look with one of her own, "No. I'm not."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, "Yes. You are."

Kanoko crossed her arms before Jiraiya sighed, "Look. We are on an important mission and I can't have you tagging along and messing it up."

Kanoko's eyes also narrowed, "If you think I am going to trust Naruto in your hands after what happened to Sasuke, you are greatly mistaken."

Jiraiya looked ashamed for a second before responding with a frown, "Which is exactly why I can't have you around. I can't protect you and Naruto at the same time."

"I can protect myself, thank you!" Naruto added into the conversation while crossing his arms.

Kanoko ignored Naruto, "I can sense any animal, human, or jutsu before it even comes into eye sight. You need me."

Jiraiya stared at Kanoko long and hard, " _She did sense me at the bathhouse when I was concealing my chakra… And she would be very useful in tracking Tsunade down – especially if the princess tries to make a break for it…_ "

"Come on pervy-sage! Kanoko is a beast! She's almost as good as me. She'll be fine!" Naruto told his sensei, secretly hoping his teammate could join their mission. He missed his team and Jiraiya wasn't all the fun to hang around with – not when he's off chasing skirts.

Jiraiya sighed dramatically, "…Ok, but there will be some ground rules!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "I will listen to your suggestions and take them under consideration."

Jiraiya's mouth dropped, " _So rude! No respect at all! Little brat!_ " He put his hands in the air shrugging, "You know what… Just never mind. I don't care anymore."

Kanoko nodded, before jumping into the tree above, "I'll take watch for the night." Her tone leaving no room for argument.

Jiraiya just sighed again, " _This is going to be one long trip…_ " He thought before calling Naruto over, "Hey Naruto, remember that cool jutsu I was telling you about…"

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"Report."

The blonde man bowed before his kage, "I successfully planted myself into the medical corps when the infiltration of Suna began. I saw the Leaf's operations up close while the containment and staging areas were combined."

The large, muscular man in front of him nodded, his chin resting on his hands, "Provide a detailed report to the intelligence and tactical units." With that, he waved him away.

"Pardon Lord Raikage." The blonde man said, not leaving as told.

The Raikage raised an eyebrow, "What is it C?" C was one of his most loyal and obedient shinobi. He knew not to waste Aye's time.

C bowed, "There is one ninja that you may be interested in. A genin."

Aye leaned back, "A genin? Do they have a kekkei genkai?" The Cloud was notorious for stealing kekkei genkai and other skilled ninjas from other nations to breed them for their own purposes.

C shook his head, "No."

Aye's eyes narrowed, "Then why would I be interested?"

"This kunoichi used the Fourth Hokage's jutsu – the one that allowed him to teleport about the area unobstructed."

Aye's eyes widened. He once faced the Fourth Hokage and that jutsu. He counted the years in his head before asking, "…Was this kunoichi blonde?"

C shook his head, "No. She wasn't his daughter. She is the daughter to the Leaf's jounin commander: Nara Shikaku."

Aye gritted his teeth before grunting, " _Taking her forcefully will be nearly impossible…_ " Aye leaned back again, thinking over the situation in his head, " _But a genin with knowledge of that jutsu… It's just too good to pass up…_ "

Aye called his assistant over, "Call the tactical unit's head and his best men!" He turned to C, "Go find Darui and meet me in the conference chambers… We have some planning to do…" C nodded, about to leave before Aye called out, "C! What is this kunoichi's name?"

C thought for a moment before answering, "Nara Kanoko." And then he teleported away.

Aye he stood to look out his window at his village below before smirking, " _I hope you are enjoying your last moments with your friends and family… Nara Kanoko._ "

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" _Naruto…. I hate you…._ " Kanoko thought as water dripped off of her face. Naruto held a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh at Kanoko. Kanoko was, graciously, trying to help Naruto spin chakra around in his hand in order to pop the water balloon.

He succeeded.

And she got a front row seat.

.

She calmly walked away, her hand twitching in annoyance and irritation, " _At least he figured it out and hopefully will stop whining so loudly._ " Kanoko pulled off her dark brown, short sleeve jacket and letting it air out, leaving her in her tight black turtle-neck shirt.

Kanoko turned her head as Jiraiya walked up the hill, " _Well this is a surprise… Normally we have to go find him and drag him out of some brothel…_ "

Naruto quickly called him over and showed him that he could pop the balloon. Jiraiya looked slightly impressed before lazily telling him about the second step.

"Yay! Enough with the kid stuff! What's next? Weapons?!" Naruto asked excitedly, a large grin on his face.

Jiraiya tossed him a ball, "Here you go."

"Huh? A rubber ball?!" Naruto asked with a frown.

Kanoko walked over, curious herself. This jutsu was one she wasn't familiar with, so while she was helping Naruto, she was learning it herself. Best to know in case she ever needed to defend against it.

Jiraiya smirked, pulling out another ball, "Let's see if you can pop this one." To demonstrate, he quickly demolished it with his chakra. "First, rotation. Second, force. This ball has no water inside, so it is far more difficult to exert the right amount of chakra to pop it."

"Yeah…" Naruto said, staring at the ball after giving it a try and failing.

Jiraiya's face turned joyous, "And in the meantime… I'm going to get back to my research!" Jiraiya turned around and started walking away.

Naruto's face jerked up before calling out, "Hey! Pervy-sage! Don't go away again! Come on, stay and help me with my training! Don't just leave me!"

Jiraiya didn't turn around, "Stop whining." He said coldly.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, coming up behind Naruto. Jiraiya turned his head, "There is one part of this process you don't seem to understand. I said I would be your teacher. Not your father or your best friend. I'm not here to hold your hand."

Kanoko's eye narrowed as she crossed her arms, " _He better not referring to me. I haven't been holding Naruto's hand._ "

Jiraiya gave him a hard look, "You have to do this by yourself, or not at all. Stop being a child and learn how to stand on your own two feet – like a shinobi."

Naruto laughed nervously, but Kanoko knew it to be his "I'm upset, but I won't show it" laugh. Years of being classmates and "rivals" taught Kanoko a lot about Naruto. "I know… I was just hoping… Before you left, you could show me… Just one more time?"

Jiraiya turned around and held out his hand. Kanoko looked at it dully, " _Is he asking for the ball back?_ "

.

"Pay me." Jiraiya said plainly.

.

.

" _Ok, I'm done._ " Kanoko thought, standing in front of Naruto with her arms crossed and her "Tobirama glare" on her face, "Listen here kid. I'm not sure what Hiruzen did to raise such a miserable child as yourself, but when you agree to teach, you commit. It's not when you feel like it, or when it's convenient - it's when your student requires your attention. Even if they're annoying little brats who blow their snotty noses on you and burst your ear drums with their yelling."

Kanoko narrowed her eyes further, "I'm not asking you to _hold his hand_ , but asking **payment** for a service that is your **duty** to both your student and **your village** is despicable and disloyal."

Jiraiya opened his mouth to defend himself, when Kanoko spoke again, "And if you taught the Fourth Hokage as you say you did, they I am certain he would be **ashamed** to call you sensei, if he saw you now: Treating the future of the Leaf Village as a payday."

Silence took over that area as leaves passed on the wind. Naruto's jaw was wide open, staring at Kanoko's back. Jiraiya's face was dark, his teeth gritting and his fists turning white. He marched over to Kanoko, stuck a finger in her face, and opening his mouth to yell when he stopped.

Kanoko eyes were sharp and firm. She did not waiver and she did not back off. He could tell she felt strongly about this and she would defend it to her last breath.

Standing up straight, he looked down at her and exhaled through his nose, " _Those eyes…_ " Jiraiya closed his eyes, taking a moment to think things through before turning back to Naruto.

Naruto stared back at Jiraiya – a lonely and hopeful look in his eyes.

Jiraiya sighed before giving Naruto a kind smile, "Fine. One more time."

Kanoko relaxed, turning to watch and not catching Naruto's soft smile at her.

" _Thanks Kanoko._ "

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Kanoko picked up the plates from breakfast as Naruto raced back to their shared room to grab his stuff. Naruto quickly ran back into the room – completely ready to roll.

"I'm heading out! Meet you guys on the hill!" Naruto laughed, running out the door.

Kanoko's eye twitched, " _Little runt…_ " Kanoko wiped her hands and started for the door when she was stopped by Jiraiya's voice, "Wait."

Kanoko turned around to give him a dull look.

Jiraiya sat cross legged, "I wanted to talk to you." He paused to look at the door, "Without Naruto."

Kanoko narrowed her eyes, but stood waiting.

Jiraiya sighed, realizing that she wouldn't sit down. His eyes turned serious, "I'm going to be frank… Everything about you is unnatural and suspicious."

Kanoko tensed, not liking his accusation.

Jiraiya noticed and just added it to his internal checklist, "But you're Shikaku's kid and that clears up some things." He paused to think, " _And Rokumaru's granddaughter…_ "

Jiraiya continued, "But it doesn't explain your abilities. Your skills in fuinjutsu alone are rare, and with no teachers in Konoha currently… It leaves me suspicious. Tag on your multiple chakra natures and how quickly you are picking up on the jutsu I am training Naruto on…" Jiraiya rubbed his chin, "Just who are you?"

Kanoko held his gaze firm, "Nara Kanoko."

His eyes narrowed, "That doesn't explain anything."

"I imagine it wouldn't, but I am under no obligation to explain it to you." Kanoko answered firmly, expression void of emotion.

"You understand this leaves me in the position of distrust towards you." Jiraiya responded, eyes thin.

Kanoko nodded, "As it should. I am loyal to the Leaf, my family, my team, and my friends. You do not rank anywhere in my priorities and if I were to choose between you and Naruto, I would sacrifice you in a heartbeat."

Jiraiya's eyes went wide before barking out laughter, "As much as I would **love** to see that, you and I both know Naruto would have a fit."

Kanoko's eye twitched, remembering the whole "Haku" incident.

Jiraiya stood up, stretching out as he did, "To be honest, I was going to dump you off in the next town – skate out with Naruto while I had the chance, but…" Jiraiya looked Kanoko in the eyes and gave her a smirk, "I'm starting to like you, so I guess I'll keep you around."

" _As if you could lose me._ " Kanoko thought, before turning to the door again.

"But I'll be keeping my eye on you. I don't know what you are, but are no child." Jiraiya said with a frown.

Kanoko shrugged with a "hn" before walking out, leaving Jiraiya behind.

Jiraiya stared at the door, " _If she is the product of Rokumaru's doing… I can only hope that Naruto's light keeps her on our side…_ "

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The sound of leaves rustling was heard as blurs passed through the trees. The moon was bright as it covered that area below.

The figures stopped, parts of them shrouded in darkness while the white masks reflected the moon's bright rays of light.

One of them kneeled to the ground before looking up at another, "…We're close. The town ahead."

The leader nodded, gesturing the others to move out. In an instant, all were gone – except one. This ninja looked up at the bright moon, one day away from a full moon. He waited until the last shadow caught up to him.

Seeing his leader stop, he paused.

"I want you to turn around, Shino." The leader told the boy.

He shifted slightly, "…Why? Am I not strong enough?"

The leader shook his head, thinking, " _This is not the life I wanted for you, little brother._ " He spoke to Shino, "…Yes."

Shino stared at his leader, through his ANBU mask. He moved forward to argue, but the leader was firm, "Please… For me Shino."

Shino stopped and looked down in thought. He took a moment, then lifted his head to his team leader and nodded.

The leader relaxed before disappearing away in the night.

Shino stood there for a moment longer, " _Be safe… Torune._ "


	25. Chapter 24

Kanoko frowned at the people on the street as they passed. She was currently leaning against the side of a building, with her arms crossed. As each second passed, she felt her long lasting patience dwindle to nothing.

" _What is taking him so long?_ " Kanoko thought, turning her head to the door of the men's bathroom. She knew Naruto was still in there, she could sense his presence. It hadn't flickered at all and no one had gone in there since.

…And Jiraiya was in there with him. Surely nothing has happened?

Kanoko huffed, glaring at the passing crowd again, " _The idiot probably ate something bad again… When is he going to learn?_ " Kanoko's eye twitched, " _If I'm not at home dealing with my infant of a brother (and father), then I'm on Naruto duty... I should have brought Sakura with me._ " After many "Naruto" incidents, Kanoko and Sakura worked out a fair and impartial system for selecting the one in charge of Naruto that day: Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Children with their parents and adults wandering around passed by her for several more minutes. Some ventured into the bathroom she was leaning against and after the third father with their child came out, Kanoko stopped them.

"Excuse me. I am waiting for my brother, can you tell me if he's ok?" Kanoko gave him the "lost child" look, making him sigh and leave his son with her while he went back in to check. When he came out Kanoko raised an eyebrow. The man scratched the back of his head, "…No one was in there."

.

.

.

Kanoko stared blankly at him, "…Excuse me?"

The man just grabbed his son's hand before answering her, "I'm sorry, but it looks like your brother left you…"

.

Kanoko's eye twitched dangerously.

.

.

.

*SMASH*

Kanoko slammed her fist into the wall next to her, causing it to crack under the pressure. The man and his son quickly ran away as Kanoko's aura turned dark.

"Ha. Ha. HA." Kanoko started laughing in a dark and broken voice before fire rose up behind her.

 _Flashback_

 _Jiraiya stood up, stretching out as he did, "To be honest, I was going to dump you off in the next town – skate out with Naruto while I had the chance, but…" Jiraiya looked Kanoko in the eyes and gave her a smirk, "I'm starting to like you, so I guess I'll keep you around."_

 _"As if you could lose me." Kanoko thought, before turning to the door again._

 _End Flashback_

"You're dead. I don't care if you're my student's student." Kanoko start stomping away, causing the ground to shake as she moved, "… **You. Are. Dead.** "

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Kanoko stomped on top of the roof of one of the taller buildings in this town. She gritted her teeth, " _I should have never let him know about my sensing skills._ " She thought, irritated at herself and how long it was taking her to find Naruto and Jiraiya.

Jiraiya, understanding the skills of a good sensor, placed a number of active seals throughout the town and surrounding forest (even on some of the birds in the air – that was **awesome** ). These seals had Naruto's and Jiraiya's chakra – confusing her senses. To top of off, Jiraiya was probably concealing their chakra signatures, which was normally not an issue for Kanoko, but with all these distractions and seals, it was like finding the smallest needle in a needle stack…

Crouching down, her eyes scanned the area for clues. Her window of time was slowly closing. If she didn't find them soon… Kanoko had a feeling that Jiraiya was skilled at running and hiding from angry women seeking vengeance.

Her head jerked to the right. Her eye followed the chakra energy quickly making its way through the town. She knew Jiraiya would not make such a simple mistake, but a normal person doesn't move that fast – it had to be a ninja.

Kanoko narrowed her eyes, curious to why a shinobi would be moving like this through the town. Most ninja just calmly walked through villages and towns, to not gather attention. Making a decision, Kanoko dived down from the roof to the ally below and swiftly followed them from a distance. She knew she would have to keep her distance – in case they were a sensor as well.

When the shinobi stopped in an ally, she leaned her back onto the wall, around the corner from the ninja. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for a reflective surface to get a clear visual of the ninja when she dove to the ground – narrowly avoiding a kunai to the face.

Kanoko kicked the ground to push herself back as the ninja continued his assault in taijutsu. He quickly shot out towards her, sending a series of punches and kicks – using his fists, legs, knees, elbows - anything and everything.

Kanoko was barely keeping up – mostly evading his attacks by leaning side to side and backing up until she hit the wall. She grunted as he sent his fist into her stomach before grabbing it and using it to swing him around – smashing him into the wall with her body.

He coughed out in pain, struggling against her hold as she applied all her chakra into keeping him pinned. Kanoko stomped her foot down to further apply force into her elbow and side – squeezing him against the wall before pulling her sword out and holding it to his throat.

"You may look like ANBU, but clearly you need more training." Kanoko grunted out, pressing her sword against her throat, "But I would like to know why you are here and why you attacked me."

The ANBU didn't respond, he just continued to struggle against her. Kanoko was a little surprised he hadn't broke her hold yet. Even if he was a new ANBU member, he was, physically, very weak. Perhaps he had a special ability that made him essential, but if that was the case, where was his handler? Most new ANBU members had a mentor or handler and the special ones always had a handler nearby.

Kanoko pushed her chakra out, searching the area for another ninja – his partner or back up squad, but was puzzled when she found neither. She pressed her sword further into his throat, ripping the fabric. He flinched slightly, but was doing a decent job at keeping his cool.

"…I am impressed with your resolve." Kanoko put her sword away, pushing back as she said, "…Aburame Shino."

The shinobi before her tensed and stilled at her words. He stared at her for a long time before tentatively starting to move away – to flee the scene. Kanoko wasn't about stop him. Suddenly, he stopped on his own to look back at Kanoko, "…No one ever remembers me… Why?"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, remembering his quirk about asking why and then answering his own question. After waiting a moment, she gave him a blank look, "I don't forget those that I deem important to know." Which was true – in a way. Kanoko felt telling him the truth: that she rarely forgot anyone, on the off chance that they became a threat one day – would be the wrong answer. He seemed a little lost and a little lonely – something that continues to make her flinch when Naruto gives her that look, so she decided to provide a gentler answer.

It seemed to work, as Shino, mask and ANBU attire still on, looked at her before answering, "…I was on a mission, but was told to go home."

Kanoko's eyebrow rose higher, " _Why would he be told to leave after the mission began, and not before?_ " Instead of voicing her thought, Kanoko looked around before speaking, "…Doesn't look like Konoha to me."

Shino nodded, "I… Decided to continue. Why? Because I am worried and want to help."

Kanoko sighed internally, remembering how much his little "quirk" irritated her. However, she was still interested in his mission, "What are you worried about?"

Shino didn't respond, causing Kanoko to sigh internally as she crossed her arms, " _I shouldn't be pressuring him to tell me confidential village missions… Even if the circumstances leave me uneasy. It is not my place._ "

Nodding slightly to herself, Kanoko asked, "I understand that you cannot tell me your mission, but if you need help – I'll do what I can." Kanoko paused to look at him with a small smirk, "If you help me track someone down…"

She saw Shino twitch slightly. Kanoko wasn't sure if was because of her smirk or if it was because he was happy to be needed – she knew how hard it was, starting off in the ANBU unit. Not that she ever took part, but she helped train many of them when it was formed and knew that the first year was always the hardest – feeling useless and like deadweight to their team.

Kanoko also suspected the lack of ninjas his age also played a part. When created Tobirama the ANBU, he didn't intend for it to be staffed by children. He had seen the benefit - no doubt. Very few people, including ninjas, suspected children to be assassins or spies, but he also saw many flaws in inducting children into such a segregated organization – whose job was literally completing the worst jobs the village had to offer.

Children are very influential and don't always know how to process their emotions like adults. This can lead to a large range mental illnesses, not to mention the risk of them dying before adulthood.

Hashirama was also against the very principle, so Tobirama shied away from the idea. Clearly, things had changed since then, if Shino was an ANBU Black Ops member.

"…Who are you looking for?" Shino asked, void of emotion, but eager to help.

Kanoko pulled out a picture taken at one of the towns she, Naruto, and Jiraiya had visited. All three of them were standing in front of a rather sleazy joint, but Naruto wanted something to remember his trip by and had a stranger take a picture of the three of them.

Point to Jiraiya, she said, "I'm looking for Uzumaki Naruto – our goofball classmate, and this man, Jiraiya."

Shino stared at the picture while Kanoko internally cursed his mask, wishing she could read his expression. Shino straightened back up and looked at Kanoko before nodding, "…I will help you."

Kanoko smiled slightly at him, which she was sure came out more as a smirk, before putting the picture back in her pocket, "Thank you Shino."

Shino nodded before raising his hand to let out some bugs. Kanoko watched as they left before turning back to him, "You weren't bad… Before – when we fought, but you're physical strength is lacking. That being said, why did you attack me with taijutsu instead of using your insects?" Kanoko was very curious as to why he did not go all out on her – especially when she got the upper hand.

Shino was silent before speaking in a low tone, "…My oni-san once told me to cherish my friends – for they are important."

Kanoko's eyebrow shot up immediately, " _Friend?_ " Deciding to address it, she spoke, "Forgive me. I do not remember communicating much with you during the academy."

Instead of correcting her or making an excuse, Shino simply nodded before one of his bugs flew back to him, joining his collective under his clothes, "…They are at a pub, near the edge of town…"

Kanoko looked at him impressed, "That was fast…"

Shino was silent again before explaining, "My bugs were in the area… Looking for another…"

Kanoko nodded, "Let me know if you require my assistance in your mission." Kanoko crouched to leap towards a building, but stopped before she completed her movement.

Kanoko's former brother's, Hashirama's, face appeared in her head – smiling like an idiot as he was prone to be.

" _I want to create a place where children will never have to die again._ "

The first time Hashirama told Tobirama that, they were still kids themselves, but he never gave up on that dream of his. With every family member they lost, after kid's neck he snapped, every time before battle, he would get this look and tell Tobirama why he continued to fight: For a better future.

" _The fellow countrymen of the Konoha make up each part of my body… those of the village believe in me, and I believe in them… That's what it means to be Hokage!_ " Hashirama's voice rang in her head again.

Of course, Tobirama was more practical, understanding the world for what it was: Messy. So, he acted accordingly – doing things his brother would not, but never betraying his ideology.

And then he was reborn as Nara Kanoko and all he saw around him were the things he created for a purpose being used in ways that would disappoint his brother greatly.

Even her own words started to haunt her.

" _Saru, you must protect those who have faith in you and who love the village, and train up to those to whom you can entrust the next generation…_ "

It was this self-placed responsibility and guilt that made her turn around Shino.

She stared at him for a moment before saying, "You know… If you are no longer "officially" on this mission of yours, and are trying to lay low while you track your team down, why don't you join me? I'm sure Naruto would like to see you again. He treasures all of his friends greatly – he's weird like that." Kanoko finished with a smirk, " _If Naruto remembers. Shino wasn't the most_ _ **noticeable**_ _ninja in our academy…_ "

Shino stilled, unsure. Kanoko continued, "Of course, you would have to change out of your ANBU uniform and walk around as Aburame Shino for once."

Even with the self-inflicted guilt, Kanoko wasn't really sure why she was being so open and kind with Shino. She rarely even acted like this to her own twin, but something about Shino's situation and his lost attitude also brought out her "sensei" side as well.

Kanoko shrugged when Shino didn't respond or move. Figuring it to be a pointless if he wasn't willing, she turned to start on her journey again when she heard a soft, "I can't change. Why? Because I have nothing to change into…"

Kanoko chuckled lowly before stating the obvious, "Lose the mask, vest, and steal a jacket – easy." When Shino shifted nervously she sighed, "Go ahead. I'll wait here for you – but don't take too long."

Shino nodded before disappearing.

Kanoko tapped her foot with her arms crossed as she looked up at the sky. It had been three weeks now and she vaguely wondered what happened after she left. She knew her brother would be a little ticked at her for leaving him by himself to dealing with "Nara Drill Sergeant" – as her father was now being dubbed, but she wondered about the rest of them...

She shook her head, " _Cht. I'm getting soft..._ "

00000000000000000000000000000000

Shikamaru stared up at the clouds with his eyes half open. He was flat on his back, his arms loosely at his side while the wind blew at the grass – tickling his face. He was completely exhausted. His arms and legs ached, and his whole body tingled from overexertion.

" _It's just not fair…_ " He thought, not moving an inch.

The sky was particularly blue with plenty of oddly shaped clouds floating by. The trees were rustling lightly and the area was silent - outside the various animals and insects going about their day.

He gave the sky an envious look, " _It's just not fair… Why couldn't I have been born a cloud? Having no responsibilities, no worries, no bi-polar fathers, no angry mothers… That would be the life… Just floating along, in whatever direction the wind takes me…_ "

Finding peace in imagining himself as a cloud, he slowly closed his eyes and started drifting to sleep….

.

.

.

"SHIKAMARU!"

Shikamaru's eye twitched, " _I should have picked a spot with taller grass…_ " He kept his eyes closed as he felt someone run up to him.

"There you are you lazy bum! What do you think you're doing, huh?! We need to train!" Ino shouted at him, crossing her arms and scowling at him.

Shikamaru ignored her. Ever since the Chunin Exams, Ino has been doing nothing, but training. The defeat of Team Asuma was a hard reality for her to accept – add on losing to _Sakura_ and Ino just **could not** let it go. Every day, she'd drag Shikamaru and Choji (sometimes even Asuma-sensei) out of their homes to train until dusk.

Shikamaru tried to use the, "I'm still recovering" excuse, but there was just no reasoning with Ino when she got like this.

Ino scoffed, stomping her feet and bending slightly with her hands on her hips, "Don't even try that on me!"

"Come on Shikamaru… You know Ino's just going to yell at you until you move." Choji told him plainly while munching on a bag of chips. Choji knew that his teammates were reaching a breaking point with each other, but wasn't sure what he could do. He didn't mind training with Ino and he didn't mind cloud watching with Shikamaru, so he was at an impasse at what to do.

Shikamaru just shrugged before frowning, "…Troublesome…" He looked at the sky in envy again before sighing and slowly moving to his feet. Standing up he stuck his hands in his pockets and looked over at Ino, "Between you and my father, I'm going to die from overexertion…"

"Pff! With all that energy you have stored up from moving as little as possible, I doubt it!" Ino told him, before grabbing him by the arm and dragging him towards the training grounds – Choji following behind quietly.

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Shikamaru sighed. Ino and Choji (who was surprisingly into the whole "training" thing) had finally relented and they were now walking down the streets of Konoha, looking for a place to eat. Ino had firmly put her foot down – refusing to eat at the barbeque place again. Shikamaru agreed, mostly because Asuma-sensei wasn't around to foot the bill and the barbeque place was rather expensive.

Instead, they were looking for a less expensive restaurant to dine at.

Which is how they came across a depressing looking Sakura.

"Sakura?" Ino asked, running up to her friend.

Shikamaru sighed, they last thing he needed in his already ruined day was another _girl_ _ **.**_

Sakura looked up to see Team Asuma and gave them a small smile, "What are you guys up to?" Ino shrugged, "Trying to find a place to eat. Wanna join?" Ino finished with a smile.

Sakura looked away unsure, before her stomach growled, causing her to blush, "…That sounds great." Ino giggled at her friend before hooking arms with her and dragging her away from the boys for girl talk.

"Sooo. I bet you were visiting Sasuke!" Ino pointed at her, "Don't think I'm going to be losing to you anytime soon, billboard brow! They only reason you won in the Chunin Exams was because I got stuck with the lazy Nara twin!" Ino finished with a large grin, taking any malice out of the statements.

Sakura grinned back, "Still sour over that Ino-pig? I can see such a **big** loss is taking its toll on you – is that a wrinkle I see?!"

"Why you..!" Ino shouted, pointing at Sakura before both girls burst out laughter and grinning largely at each other.

Shikamaru gave them a disturbed look before muttering to Choji, "I'm pretty sure that they're insulting each other, but they're laughing like they're best buds…"

Choji shrugged, "Girls are scary." He reasoned, not finding any other expansion valid.

Shikamaru nodded, eyebrows raised, "How right you are, Choji. How right you are…"

"Hey guys! Wait up!"

The four genin turned their heads around to see Neji and Lee running their way, Tenten following behind.

"I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY YOU NEJI! I WILL BE FIRST TO THE RAMEN BAR! FOR MY YOUTH BURNS WITH TH- SAKURA-CHAN!" Lee shouted, running past Neji and stopping in front of Sakura with a ground breaking skid.

"Sakura-chan! My beautiful cherry blossom! You are looking extra special today, if I could be so forward!" Lee exclaimed out. Sakura quickly leaned back and away from Lee.

Choji looked over to Neji and Tenten, slightly curious, "You guys are looking for a place to eat too?"

Neji ignored him, but Tenten answered with a smile, "Yep! We just finished up training with Gai-sensei and decided to have a team dinner!"

Ino clapped her hands, "Why don't we all go together!"

Sakura leaned over to Ino to whisper, "What?! Come one…" Ino just snickered at her friend before Lee jumped in the air, shouting, "I would love to dine with you Sakura-chan!"

Sakura just sweat dropped before sighing and smiling slightly.

All six of them eventually found a sit down restaurant. After ordering their drinks and food, they quickly started some conversations.

"So what have you guys been up to, outside of training?" Ino asked Tenten. Tenten smiled nervously, pouring herself some tea, "Just training… These two knuckleheads got their pride damaged in the match with Team Kakashi. Even Gai-sensei has been depressed about it."

"Gai-sensei… I'M SO SORRY!" Lee shouted, shaking his fist and tears forming in his eyes.

"Lee! What did we say about your inside voice?!" Neji glared at him.

Lee sighed, mumbling, "One notch above whispering when indoors…"

Sakura and Ino giggled. Choji, finishing his tea with a large gulp, "You can't laugh Ino… You're doing the same thing." Ino glared at her teammate for his betrayal, "Shut up Choji! It's not the same!"

Shikamaru scoffed, "Yeah… The fact that you're training day and night – waking me up from my much needed sleep – it's not the same at all…" He drawled out, irritated from the lack of sleep. His father continued to wake him up before the sun rose and since Kanoko was away – gallivanting around the countryside – all of his father's _attention_ was on him.

"What about you Sakura?" Tenten asked, trying to change the conversation before Ino reached out and strangled her teammates.

Sakura shift nervously with a small blush on her cheeks, "Oh… You know…" Ino laughed at her friend, "Visiting Sasuke, I bet!" Sakura turned pink at the accusation – even though it was true.

Lee looked up, "How is he doing? I heard Gai-sensei say that he was suffering from some kind of genjutsu…"

Sakura nodded, "That's all they really know… He hasn't woken up yet. Hinata is with him most of the time, so she would know more, but…"

Shikamaru interrupted, "Naruto and Jiraiya are looking for an expert healer to help him – and Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura looked over at Shikamaru, "Don't forget Kanoko! She's out there too!" Not long after Kanoko left to chase Naruto, Sakura went around looking for Kanoko so they could continue training. When she couldn't find her, she asked the Naras, who told her that Kanoko went after Naruto and Jiraiya.

Ino smirked, chuckling evilly, "Oh, no one can forget that – especially not that jounin with the senbon in his mouth."

Lee place a finger on his chin in thought, "Isn't that Genma-san? Gai-sensei introduced us to him once."

Ino nodded, "Daddy told me, well my mom, an interesting story about when Kanoko's father, the jounin commander, found out that she ran away." Everyone leaned in to listen – except for Shikamaru, who just sighed dramatically.

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Genma stared at the door, half his shirt torn to shreds and his face covered in scratches. His eye twitched uncontrollable and his arms were lax at his side.

"Ha! I don't believe you!" Kotetsu said, walking by Genma's pitiful form with Izumo before stopping to look at him, "Genma…?"

Izumo, curious, leaned past Kotetsu to see what was going on. His eyebrows rose up at the sight, "Why are you just standing there…. And what happened to you?"

"Genma had the unfortunate luck of being on board patrol duty three weeks ago." Asuma chuckled, walking up slowly from the other direction – having just finished another mission.

Kotetsu was confused, "…This happened to you during guard duty… Three weeks ago?"

Genma glared at all of them, but not offering an explanation. Asuma laughed harder, not wanting to pass up messing with his former classmate, "Haha! I bet he wishes! From the looks of it, you had to deal with Tora, right?" Asuma rubbed his chin, looking over all the scratches, "…That cat has related to the two tailed beast or something..." He mumbled as Genma narrowed his eyes further.

"Why don't you go mind your own business, Sarutobi…" Genma drawled out, annoyance in his voice.

Asuma just laughed, but walked away anyways.

Izumo watched Asuma walk away before turning back to Genma, who was still debating walking through the door. Izumo looked at the door, "Hey Kotetsu… Isn't that Nara-san's office?"

Kotetsu raised an eyebrow, "…Yeah." He looked over at Genma, "Why don't you just go in? Shikaku's cool, he won't mind…" Which was true. Nara Shikaku was pretty lax and always treated his subordinates with kindness – even when they were acting like children.

Genma just grumbled at them before pushing through the door, closing it roughly behind him.

Izumo and Kotetsu looked at each other in confusion. Izumo put a finger on his chin, "What do you think Asuma-san meant by Genma being on patrol duty three weeks ago?"

Kotetsu took a moment to think about it, "…I don't know… But I bet Aoba knows!"

They quickly made their way to the tower's lunch room, where many of the jounin and special jounin gather. "Hey Aoba!" Kotetsu called out, walking up to Aoba at the table with Asuma, Kurenai and Raido.

He turned his head around, "Oh, Kotetsu, Izumo. Whacha guys need?" Asuma, already suspecting where this is going, leaned back in his chair with a cocky smirk.

"What happened to Genma three weeks ago during guard duty?" Izumo asked, getting straight to the point, really curious now.

Aoba sweat dropped before laughing nervously, "Genma's going to kill me if I say anything…" Asuma barked out a laugh, "Now you have to tell them!"

Kurenai shot him a nasty look, "Asuma! You're just lucky your neck isn't on the chopping block after the state Shikamaru ended up in during the Chunin Exams!"

"Oh no! That's alllll Kakashi's doing. I took no part in both of Shikaku's children ending up in the hospital – for days." Asuma said quickly, shaking his hands.

Raido chuckled, "It was funny to watch Kakashi diving behind trash cans every time Shikaku was in the vicinity." Aoba joined in laughing, "Haha! And remember when Shikaku strolled up lazily behind Kakashi – scaring the daylights out of him! Hahaha! They still haven't repaired the hole in the ceiling where Kakashi hit his head – jumping in fright!"

Kotetsu and Izumo blinked at them before focusing them back to the point, "Is that why Genma didn't want to go into Shikaku-san's office?"

Asuma chuckled lowly, "Sort of." He turned to them, "You see, Genma was on patrol duty three weeks ago – when Nara Kanoko ran away to find Naruto and Jiraiya-sannin." Aoba, feeling better that Asuma was the one to spill the beans, tacked on, "So Shikaku has been assigning Genma that worst D-ranked missions that come in. I heard today it was Tora the cat!"

Asuma barked out a laugh, "It was. You should have seen him! His shirt was falling off from all the claw marks!"

Everyone at the table either laughed or chuckled at Genma's pain.

"I hate all of you…"

They turned around to see a sulking Genma, with a toddler on his shoulders and puke in his hair. Aoba and Raido quickly held a hand to their mouth to stop from laughing while Kurenai turned her face – trying not to laugh as well.

Asuma just rolled out of his chair, tears in his eyes, "AHAHAHAHA!"

Genma tried to kill him with his gaze while the toddler tried to reached out for Genma's senbon – pulling on his cheek painfully in the process.

"You know Kotetsu… I think this is a good time to leave… Before we get caught in something unfortunate." Izumo said to his friend, staring at the crazy jounin in front of them. Kotetsu nodded, "…Yeah. Good call Izumo."

They quickly made their way out of the lunch room – now fully aware to never get on Nara Shikaku's bad side.

00000000000000000000000000000000

Naruto grumbled as he walked, hands firmly clasped around his backpack straps. Jiraiya sighed for what felt like the millionth time, "Oh come on kid! We had to get rid of her! She was going to mess up everything!"

Naruto muttered, "…You just didn't like being told off by her…"

Jiraiya's eye twitched, " _That might be true… But I wasn't going to let Rokumaru's granddaughter screw this mission up – I can't trust anything from that man._ "

Naruto grumbled some more before his stomach growled loudly. He turned to Jiraiya who just chuckled before looking around for a place to eat at and gather more information. Finding a shady little pub, he walked over to it. Naruto gave him a dirty look, "This is a pub! What do you think you're up to old man? I'm underage, you know!"

Jiraiya gave him an annoyed look, "This is exactly the kind of place to gather information on Tsunade!"

"But I'm hungry! Can't we gather information on this old lady another time!" Naruto whined.

"Look. They serve food here. Let's just go in. Standing here debating about it isn't doing us any favors." Jiraiya said, trying to sound logical, but was just too tired to argue. It was more effort than he thought: Getting Kanoko off of his trail.

Naruto just grumbled, walking into the restaurant, "…I don't understand how you think you're going to find this great and amazing lady in a place like this."

Jiraiya followed in behind him sighing, "I don't expect to find her here, but the patrons and employees may know something about her whereabouts…" Jiraiya trailed off as his jaw dropped.

Sitting at one of the tables was a drunk, busty blonde with a nervous brunette next to her, and a small pig on the seat. Jiraiya raised his shaking hand in the air to point at her, with his mouth wide open, "T-Tsunade!"

Tsunade looked up in panic, thinking it to be a debt collector, before calming down before her anger caught up to her, "Jiraiya! How did you find me?!"

Jiraiya just face-palmed.

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Kanoko walked steady with Shino trailing next to her, just a step behind her as they walked into the pub. Her eyes quickly sought out that eye blinding blonde hair and immediately spotted it in of the crowd. Honestly though, she didn't even need to look. Kanoko would have easily found Naruto – due to all the yelling he was doing.

As they approached the table, the blonde woman across from Naruto slammed her foot down onto the table he was standing on, "You got guts kid! Let's take this outside!"

"Let's not." Kanoko drawled out, getting tired of all the theatrics. She could only handle so much stupidity in one day.

"Ah!" Jiraiya yelled, letting go of Naruto's shirt and jumping back from Kanoko form. Kanoko just lifted her head to look down at him as she plotted in her revenge in her head.

"Whoereyou?!" The blonde woman slurred out – clearly having had too much alcohol. Kanoko gave her a dull look before ignoring her and turning to Naruto, "What did Sakura and I tell you about picking fights with strangers?"

Naruto pouted before looking down and mumbling, "…Not in public places, especially if civilians are present…" Kanoko crossed her arms, giving Naruto a stern look, " _And this is why I never had kids._ " She thought before using her "sensei" voice to tell Naruto, "And to stop doing it, completely."

Naruto just roughly sat down, on the **table** , cross-legged with his arms crossed and started grumbling about never getting to do anything fun and exciting.

" _Because fighting with strangers of unknown power levels is fun and exciting… No wonder this kid is a disaster magnet!_ " Kanoko thought before turning back to Jiraiya to give him a piece of her mind when the lady jumped up again.

"HAHA! Wimp! Your girlfriend shows up and in an instant she has you by your balls!" She shouted, laughing loudly – rudely disturbing the other customers.

"What a vulgar woman you are. Your ancestors must be ashamed for having such an unruly and bad-mannered child as yourself." Kanoko told her, upset by the attention she was creating on them and her words to Naruto.

She just hiccupped and smirked, "Well they're all dead fools, so who gives a rat's ass!"

"Lady Tsunade!" The brunette hissed at Tsunade for being so rude, "Maybe it's time to get going…"

.

.

.

Tsunade?

.

.

.

Oh **HELL NO**.

.

Kanoko bit hard on her bottom lip as her eye twitched uncontrollably. She curled her fingers into fists before stretching them out into open palms, to relieve some anger. Kanoko felt her blood start to boil just before Naruto shouted again.

"No way am I letting you off the hook so easily for what you said about the Hokage!" He shouted, pointing aggressively at Tsunade, "What, are you afraid to take me on?!"

"Not on your life punk!" Tsunade responded, moving her companion out of the way as the both of them moved to leave the pub.

"Lady Tsunade!" The other lady yelled, chasing after her with the small pig in her arms.

Kanoko quickly chased after them as her eyes darkened to a brown-red color. Shino casually following her out.

Jiraiya blinked as everyone left him before sighing – tired from everything. He took a sip of his sake before his eyes went wide.

"HEY! I CAN'T PAY FOR THIS!"

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Naruto and Tsunade faced each other, a few feet in between them. All of them, including a teary eyed Jiraiya, were standing out on the street.

Tsunade smirked, "A legendary sannin taking on a snotty little genin? I should be ashamed at myself." She said confidently with her hands on her hips.

Kanoko rubbed her forehead in frustration, " _This is_ _ **all your fault**_ _Hashirama. I take_ _ **no**_ _responsibility for this._ "

"Who're you callin' snotty?" Naruto growled out, his tone low.

In response, Tsunade lifted her arm and held up one finger – her pointer finger. Jiraiya sighed, annoyed at his former teammate, "Oh… Stop trying to show off."

She ignored him. Eyes firm on Naruto she said, "You see this? One finger is all I need to take you down. Well? What are you waiting for kid?" She finished with a cocky smirk.

That tore through Naruto, causing him to charge at her with a battle call. Swiftly and efficiently, Tsunade countered his attack with that one finger before flicking him in the forehead.

Sending him back several feet.

" _To see a Senju act so recklessly... There is no question that she is your granddaughter._ " Kanoko thought with a sneer on her face. Curious, she looked over to Shino - whose posture was stiff with amazement, " _Although, I suppose she does put on an impressive show._ "

Standing on his feet, Naruto looked back at Tsunade. He also shocked and impressed by her skill.

Tsunade gave Naruto a bland look, "Kid. Tell me this. What makes you so touchy about the Hokage?" Her eyes turned cold as she assessed Naruto.

Kanoko watched Tsunade, already knowing what Naruto's answer was going to be.

Naruto chuckled, "It's because, unlike you, that's my goal." He smirked, "Just watch, someday I'm going to be Hokage. To be Hokage – that is my dream! Believe it!"

Tsunade's eyes widened, staring straight into Naruto's determined eyes, " _That boy..!_ " She then turned her face to the ground, thinking about her little brother and lover. Kanoko lazily turned her gaze to Naruto – already knowing how this was going to play out. A lot of people said Naruto's actions were sporadic and surprising, but Kanoko begged to differ. When you're forced to be around Naruto enough, things start to become predictable.

…You may question your sanity by the end though…

Kanoko's eyebrow raised slightly as chakra gathered in Naruto's hands, " _Well… Looks like Jiraiya isn't that bad of a sensei after all._ " Kanoko thought as Naruto raced towards Tsunade with this new jutsu.

Tsunade's eyes widened, " _That jutsu!_ " Tsunade quickly brought her hand down - splitting the ground below Naruto apart, causing him to falter in his movement, and be blown back. Kanoko quickly leaped out to grab him before he fell in the fissure.

Shino didn't move from his position, but spoke his thoughts out loud to the brunette lady next to him, "She split the ground. How? With only her finger… Amazing."

Kanoko placed Naruto on the ground and gave him a bland look while she checked for injuries.

Tsunade turned to Jiraiya, "Jiraiya! Are you the one that taught this little brat the Rasengan?!" Jiraiya scoffed, "Well of course I did. I'm his teacher, aren't I?! What of it?"

Tsunade laughed indignantly, "You and the fourth are the only ones that can use it. Teaching it to a brat that has no hope in ever using it?! Filling his head with false hopes! MAKING HIM THINK HE COULD ACTUALLY BE HOKAGE?!"

Kanoko's head swiftly turned to her "grandniece" and crossed her arms, " _Anyone with the strength and will to love and protect the village with all they have may become the Hokage. Naruto may have a long way to go, but he's years ahead of you in becoming the Leaf Village's leader – despite what this old perverted fool would lead you to believe._ " Kanoko thought before walking up to Tsunade, her eyes narrowed and cold, "…Your grandfather would be mortified to see the light of his life, his first granddaughter, speak so cruelly to the future of the Hidden Leaf Village."

Tsunade's face turned to one of rage, "What would you know?! You're just another brat with stupid hopes and false realities!"

Kanoko stared long and hard at Tsunade before exhaling and uncrossing her arms. She looked up at Tsunade with grief and disappointment before shaking her head and walking away.

Tsunade stiffened as her eyes went wide, "H-How... HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT?! ONLY MY OOJI-SAN TREATED ME IN THIS WAY!" Tsunade was suddenly reminded of every time she would do something that her granduncle deemed disappointing for someone of her status – like "pretend" gambling. Sometimes it felt like he was always displeased with her – constantly raising the bar on her and preventing her from ever meeting his standards.

Kanoko just shook her head, "Just leave and go do… whatever it is that you do these days. I'm confident that Naruto will master this jutsu – that is apparently so impressive – and when he does, maybe we'll name him as Hokage. At least he has what it takes – unlike you." Kanoko didn't really mean the whole "make Naruto Hokage" thing, but she wanted to make her words sting. She was beyond herself with shame and disappointment for Tsunade's words and actions – it was not something Tobirama could tolerate.

"Oh? Is that so…" Tsunade said slowly, before raising a fist up and pointing at Kanoko, "Then how about a bet…"

Everyone there turn to Tsunade with a raised eyebrow as she continued, "If your little boyfriend can master that jutsu in a week, then I'll admit I'm wrong. I'll even throw in my necklace."

Kanoko's eyes traveled to her neck, " _That's- That's oni-san's neckless! HOW DARE SHE AUCTION IT OFF IN A BET?!_ " Kanoko was stewing in rage again - her teeth gritting.

Tsunade smirked, knowing that she had caught Kanoko in her trap, "But if he doesn't master is in a week, you lose and you both have to admit I'm right… AND you, girly…" Tsunade smirked wickedly, "You are going to pay me five hundred thousand ryo – don't think I don't know who you are: Nara Kanoko. You look just like your mother and you have your father's tongue."

"Fi-Five hundred thousand ryo?!" Naruto exclaimed, going pale before looking over to Kanoko who didn't flinch and just kept her gaze firm on Tsunade.

"Deal." Kanoko said firmly.

"What?! KANOKO!" Naruto shouted, not wanting to be responsible for that much money. Kanoko swiftly turned her gaze to him, "You **will** be learning this jutsu – even if you must die to do so."

"If Naruto dies, then you will lose the bet…" Shino said, being one of the last sane people there.

"Yeah! What he said!" Naruto sighed in relief, looking over to Shino, "Uhh… Who are you?"

Naruto took a step back as the aura around Shino went dark in depression, "…You don't remember me."

"*cough*Shino*cough*" Kanoko coughed out to Naruto. Thankfully, this was one of the few times he was listening to her and turned to Shino, "Oh yeah! You're Shino! I remember you now! You had the… bugs, right?"

Shino perked up a little, not really expecting Naruto to remember. Naruto started chuckling, "I remember when you helped Kiba and I by planting a large beetle in Iruka-sensei's desk! He jumped back so quickly that he whacked his head on the chalk board – causing it to fall down on his head."

Shino thought about it for a second before responding, "Ahh, yes. My father was not happy at me when I got back." Naruto scratched the back of his head, feeling a little guilty. Shino continued, "But it was nice… Hanging out with you guys…"

Tsunade scoffed at their "moment" before turning around and calling to her companion, "Come one Shizune! We're out of here!"

Kanoko looked over, watching Tsunade's back as she left.

" _You are not the little girl I remember, Tsunade._ " Kanoko thoughts drifting to a familiar grinning face: Her eyes shut as she laughed and her blonde hair catching the wind as she ran around.

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Later, after Shino, Kanoko, Naruto and Jiraiya had found an Inn to stay at for the night, Shizune came banging at their door. She took a moment to beg Naruto and Kanoko to stop the bet before yelling at them for their indifference.

"You don't understand… Anyone that wears that necklace… Dies." She said with a broken voice. Before anyone could ask, Shizune continued, "And you don't understand what Lady Tsunade has been through… What she has lost…"

Shino, Kanoko and Naruto waited patiently for Shizune to finish the story of Tsunade's past: The loss of her little brother and lover. When she was done, she asked them, "Do you understand now?"

Naruto just walked out to the door. "Wait!" Shizune said, but Naruto ignored her. She turned to Kanoko, "What is he going to do?!"

Kanoko shrugged, "Train. What did you think?"

Shizune's eyes widened, "Why don't you guys understand?!"

"We do." Kanoko explained, "But it doesn't excuse her behavior. Do you think that her grandfather never lost anyone? He lost his family, his clansmen, and his best friend – he lost more than most, but he never gave up on his dream: A better future for all." Kanoko looked out the window, "Can you even imagine what this world would be, if after losing one of his little brothers, he just **gave up**?"

Shizune looked down, suddenly at a loss for words.

Kanoko continued, completely serious, "…That's why I said Naruto could be the Hokage one day – if he continues to work hard and get stronger. He doesn't let the bad of the world cloud the good he sees in it. His heart and dreams burn as brightly as the first Hokage's – it's an important trait to have in a Hokage." Kanoko's eyes drifted down, " _A trait that I lack… And look how that turned out._ "

Kanoko walked over to the window and smirked as she watched Naruto race to the area outside of town, " _But there's always hope for the future – so long as you never give up on your dreams._ "

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It was night six and the only things heard were the echoes of the night and small boom sounds from Naruto's attempts in mastering the Rasengan.

Kanoko and Shino watched, perch on nearby large rocks. Shino had just joined them and was in a bit of a sour mood – upset that he still hadn't found who he was looking for. Kanoko was getting worried. Five days and he was still in the area, which meant, whatever the mission was, it would occur around here.

She wasn't comfortable with the coincidence.

That thought aside, when he wasn't patrolling the town and surrounding area, Shino was here helping Naruto in any way he could. Kanoko was a little surprised at first, but then remember Naruto's weird ability to pull people towards him like bears to honey.

"So he has to focus all of his chakra into that small ball and maintain it?" Shino asked, watching Naruto blast part of a tree away, "Even as he is now, the jutsu is quite power. I would not like to get hit with it…"

Kanoko nodded, "The jutsu is definitely a powerful one, but chakra control has never been Naruto's specialty. I'm honestly quite impressed with his progress so far." Kanoko moved her eyes to Naruto's panting body. " _It occurs to me, that I could tell him about the Shadow Clone unintended benefit… It would speed up this process… I just don't know if I want to open up that_ _ **particular**_ _brand of Pandora's box. I think I'll wait until he's a little older – more mature…_ "

In frustration, Naruto wailed out a battle cry while he blasted that area with his incomplete Rasengan – draining himself further. Kanoko sweat-dropped, " _Yep. Waiting a few years… For sure._ "

It wasn't long before Naruto fell on the ground, face first. Concerned, Shino walked over to him before staring at his back, "Your hand… It's taking too much damage." He bent down and pulled out some bandages and cream. He reached out to grab Naruto's hand, but stopped.

Kanoko walked over, curious, "Why did you stop?"

Shino looked up and her before looking back at Naruto, "I didn't want to evade his space."

Naruto just rolled over and sat crisscross, "I don't mind, so long as it helps me learn this jutsu!" Naruto finished with a large grin before shoving his hand in Shino's direction.

"It will not. Why? Because this is just meant to help your injuries, not aid you in learning a complicated jutsu from the fourth Hokage." Shino told him.

Naruto gave him a dull look, " Ha. Ha. Aren't you just full of laughs."

Kanoko just smirked, "Watch it Naruto… You're starting to sound like me." Naruto turned his head, hand sticking out as Shino started wrapping it, "Ack! Nooooo!"

Shino raised an eyebrow, "I never thought the two of you would become friends…" Naruto looked back at him, confused, "Huh? Why is that?"

Kanoko just gave Naruto an unbelievable look, "You can't be serious… You made me your rival the first day we met."

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed at Kanoko, "Well… You're the one that insulted me – acting all high and mighty!" Kanoko crossed her arms as well, "I was not." They glared at each other while Shino stared at the two – not surprised by the change.

Naruto turned suddenly to Shino, a lightbulb going off in his head, "Hey! That reminds me! What happened to you after the academy? You just disappeared!"

Kanoko looked to Shino, interested to see how he answers. Shino was silent as his body stiffened, "…I was selected to serve a different role for the village." Naruto stared at him confused, "Huh? What do you mean? Like… You're no longer a ninja?"

Shino shook his head, "…No. I'm a different type of ninja."

"I still don't get it! Just be clear and stop talking in puzzles!" Naruto grumbled out, rubbing his chin, trying to understand what Shino was saying. Deciding to save Shino, Kanoko interrupted, "By the way Shino. You said that you were looking for your friends – how come you're still here?"

"You're looking for your friends?" Naruto asked, suddenly very curious.

Shino paused, "Hai… But I cannot find them. My insects are being repelled…" Kanoko's eyebrow rose greatly, "Being repelled… Only those of your clan are able to do that, right?" Shino slowly began to nod, "…Hai."

Naruto looked between them before asking his own question, "…Well, we can help you. Kanoko does this weird "sensing" thing where she can just tell where people are and Jiraiya is good at following leads and stuff. It's how we found the useless old lady."

Kanoko nodded, "He's right, but I don't know anything about your friends. If I don't know their chakra signature, then I won't know what to look for – and if they are trying to suppress it, then my field of vision becomes more limited." Kanoko paused for a moment, thinking how she could turn this around to her benefit, "Perhaps if I knew how many, I could start searching for groups of people and point your insects in the correct direction?"

Shino was silent again, "…You would really help me? Even if it meant delaying you in your current mission?"

Naruto tilted his head confused, "Yeah. Why wouldn't we? We're friends after all! Believe it!" Naruto finished with a large grin pointed at Shino. It was hard to see if Shino was effected by Naruto's words, as he keeps a good poker face, but Kanoko trusted Naruto's ability.

"…Oh." Shino said plainly, thinking about Naruto's words and the sincerity in his voice, " _Is this what you are always referring to oni-san? The life you wanted me to have?_ " Shino thought. Shino looked back at Naruto's smiling face, "…Thank you."

Naruto chuckled his response before giving him a thumbs up, "Now tell us about these friends of yours! We'll find them for sure!"

Shino shook his head, "I greatly appreciate your wiliness to help, but this is something I must do on my own." Shino paused, "…I am sorry."

Naruto pouted for a second before smiling again, "Hey, no worries! If you need us, we're here, ok?" Kanoko nodded, in agreement with Naruto's words.

The edge of Shino's mouth lifted slightly before flattening out again, " _Thank you… Naruto…Kanoko._ "

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"So… Is it true?"

Jiraiya looked over at the Slug Princess next to him. They were both sitting at a small outdoor bar. It was only the two of them, drinking sake. Shizune kept her distance – still not happy with Tsunade's bet and the genin hadn't returned to the hotel room since day one.

Sighing, Jiraiya answered her question, "Hai… Sensei is dead… You should have been there for his funeral."

Tsunade wrinkled her nose before ignoring his comment and asking another question, "And Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya sat his glass down, staring deep into the liquid, "Sensei sealed our teammate's soul into his body as he died."

Tsunade exhaled lightly while shaking her head with her eyes closed. She slowly opened them and raised her glass to her mouth, "So it's just you and me now. How miserable."

Jiraiya chuckled lowly at her comment before turning serious again, "Tsunade… Before sensei sealed his soul, Orochimaru showed us… That he transferred his soul into a young girl's body – taking it over completely and using it to fight us with."

Tsunade's eyes grew wide, jerking her head to Jiraiya, "You! You can't be serious! He, he actually did it?! Beat death?!"

Jiraiya nodded solemnly, "…Sensei believed sealing his soul was the only way to stop him, but… If he can do that, who's to say he can't – and didn't – split his soul into other vessels." Jiraiya paused to stare bartender's back, "That kid you made a bet with, Nara Kanoko, she removed a seal Orochimaru placed on the surviving Uchiha kid and on the Sand's Jinchuriki. According to her, the "curse seal" had a piece of Orochimaru's soul in it. I refuse to believe that they were the only two…"

Tsunade was at a loss for words.

.

Slamming her drink down, she pounced, "Stop! I don't care! I know what you are doing, Jiraiya, and it won't work!"

Jiraiya leaned back and held up his hands, "Hey wait! I have no idea what you are taking about…"

Tsunade growled at him, turning his way, "Really?! Bringing that boy, who is so much like Nawaki! Telling me about the threat Orochimaru poses to the village, and to top it all off, tempt me with a genius kunoichi?!"

Jiraiya looked up, adding up all the facts in his head, " _I have to admit, the first two were intentional, but if this is how the Nara brat makes herself useful – I'll take it._ " Rather than say that out loud, Jiraiya played dumb, "I brought Naruto to teach him – honest! And you asked about Orochimaru!"

Tsunade scoffed at him, crossing her arms under her bust, "And the Nara?"

Jiraiya sighed dramatically, "…She invited herself. I tried to get rid of her, but she's a like some kind of demon…" Grumbling internally at all the pain and misery Kanoko's put him in so far.

Tsunade smirked slightly, "It does make me a bit happier to hear you so miserable. Maybe after she tells me I'm right, I'll forgive the 500,000 ryo debt."

Jiraiya's eye twitched at his teammate as he frowned at her. Tsunade's expression turned serious again as she stood up, "But this changes nothing. I am not coming back and I won't become Hokage – and nothing will change my mind." And with that, she walked away.

Jiraiya stared at Tsunade's back before sighing and taking another swig of his drink, " _If you don't become Hokage… The Leaf Village is headed for some dark times – and we may not be able to survive it this time…_ "

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Several buildings away, Torune watched the two sannin drink at a small outdoor booth. The odds of running into the other sannin while tracking the first… It was bad luck – if he even believed in such a thing. Neither he nor his team was able to get close enough to hear their conversation, so they did not know why the two sannin, after all this time, were gathered at the same place.

Torune decided that it was due to the Third Hokage's death and the fact that they were both his students… Perhaps they were mourning together…

He was slightly irritated that they could not get closer, but Fu had warned him about Nara Kanoko and her sensing abilities – and how superior they were to his own.

He sighed internally, " _I wish Fu was here… He would know what to do…_ " He didn't like this mission - for many reasons, but he had long since committed to doing things he did not like. He would do anything to protect the village and those he cared about.

"… _Shino… I hope you made it back safely._ " He thought before turning his eyes back to the two sannin, " _The presence of the Slug Princess complicates things..._ " His eyes focused on Tsunade's back, " _And then there's the Jinchuriki and the Nara._ "

Torune thought back to Danzo's words, " _Under no circumstance is the Jinchuriki to be killed or harmed too badly. You are neither skilled nor powerful enough to contain the nine-tailed beast._ " Torune agreed with his words and had already dedicated two of his team to be in charge of removing the Uzumaki from the area.

Torune watched Tsunade walk away from the booth, leaving Jiraiya to his sorrows. Torune's eyes focused on Jiraiya's back, " _Forgive me Jiraiya-sannin._ "

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Shino stopped on top of a roof, looking over the area beneath him. His bugs had failed again to find Torune and his team. He was starting to worry that they had moved on.

Honestly, Shino was unaware of the mission's objective – just that the location of the mission was here. It was possible that it may have changed, as he was no longer privy to the details.

It wasn't the first time that Shino was unaware of the mission's objective, but this time, he couldn't help, but feel that the whole team was in the dark. All, but Torune, who seemed to be on edge the whole time. Shino had seen many emotions from his older brother: Kindness, sadness, happiness – Torune wasn't opposed to showing his emotions.

It was his brother's bold emotions that encouraged Shino to interact with the children at the academy. He wasn't interested in associating with them in the beginning, but Torune went out of his way to encourage Shino to make friends – giving him a long and logical list of reasons to do so. It was ironic that none of those logical reasons were why Shino tried to reach out. It was Torune's sadness and regret, for not being able to make friends – due to his ability – that made Shino talk to the other kids at the academy.

And then he met Naruto – or then Naruto met him. He remembered getting angry at Naruto in the beginning for even thinking about using his precious insects to scare the girls, who would likely crush them. He decided then to avoid the energetic boy.

But then Naruto dubbed Kanoko as his rival (and eventually Sasuke). Kanoko… She wasn't well liked among the academy students. She knew almost everything and wasn't shy to say so. Her personality was cold and she looked down at all of her classmates – never giving them the time of day. Even the instructors seemed to be beneath her. And when they started taijutsu training… She destroyed them.

The girls in the class avoided her for her strangeness and the boys hated her because she always beat them. Even Uchiha Sasuke, who also acted as if he was above everyone else, hated her for her skill and strength. Shino remembered walking in on Sasuke punching a training log, muttering curses towards Kanoko…

Due to this, Naruto quickly found allies in the boys. All of them, who previously would not talk or associate with one and another, suddenly found themselves united against a common enemy: Nara Kanoko.

That's when Shino truly felt a part of something. He resisted in the beginning – refusing to join their anti-Kanoko group, but after a particularly painful punch to the face during taijutsu training… Let's just say Shino knew how to hold a grudge…

As it turned out, Shino found running around with Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru (who was blackmail by Naruto – though he never did learn with what exactly), and Choji to be… Fun. They may have not done everything together, but Shino still cherished all of those moments - finally understanding what his older brother meant by the importance of friends.

And he eventually even labeled Kanoko as a friend – as he did many others in his class.

Then Shino was selected to join the ANBU Black Ops as a trainee. He was honored, but sad. He knew he would no longer be able to hang out with his "friends"… But when he learned that he would be working with Torune, he was thrilled – in his own "Shino" way.

" _But now I don't know where you are… And I am worried. Why? Because you acted like you wouldn't be coming home again…_ " Shino thought as he watched his bugs return to him, " _...I will find you, oni-san._ "

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Shizune dragged her feet towards the outskirts of town, where Naruto and Kanoko were. When she got there, her eyes widened at the wreckage. Running down the hill, she stopped at a sweating and shaking Naruto, who laid flat on the ground – panting heavily.

Shizune dropped to the ground, starting to heal him when she jerked her head to Kanoko, "Why didn't you stop him?! He's chakra depleted!" Shizune turned her eyes back to Naruto, who had drifted off to sleep – completely wasted from the training.

Kanoko shrugged, not moving from her rock, "Naruto will live." Kanoko didn't feel like saying more.

Shizune grumbled lowly before picking Naruto up, "Well I don't care about your bet with Lady Tsunade! I'm taking him back to the inn to rest and heal!"

Kanoko just stared at her, not arguing, but following her back to the inn. Kanoko didn't care, but wasn't going to abandon Naruto – not after all the pain and suffering she has gone through for the kid. A thought crossed Kanoko's mind making her chuckle lowly as she stared at Shizune's back who was fussing over Naruto, " _For someone who refuses to believe in the Will of Fire, Tsunade sure has surrounded herself with those that burn strongly with it._ "

.

.

*SWOSH*

"Get down!" Kanoko yelled, racing in front of Shizune and deflecting senbon flying towards them with her sword. Shizune quickly placed Naruto on the ground and crouched into a defensive position in front of him.

Kanoko stilled, her arm extended as she held out her sword. With her other hand, she slowly crouched to the ground to focus on the chakra signatures around them, "…Two… No three shinobi…" She told Shizune whose eyes widened.

Kanoko quickly tossed her sword to her left hand as she started forming hand signs with her right, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" A large ball of fire shot out of Kanoko's mouth towards one of the chakra signatures. As the ball moved, Kanoko's eyes shifted around rapidly, taking in her surrounds – now lit up from the fire ball.

"Ack!" Kanoko grunted out when she took a hit to the back of her shoulder. She turned to her attacker and in slow motion, she watched as he started to bring his short sword down. Before he could break skin, he jumped back. Kanoko's eyes caught the small needles aimed at him – one of them catching his hand. She looked over to Shizune and nodded to her in thanks.

Shizune nodded back before turning over to where the other two ninjas were gathered. The third jumped over to his team's location before falling face first into the ground – unable to move.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Your skills in poisons are impressive." Shizune smirked, proud of herself, before turning serious again and speaking to the black clothed shinobi, "Why have you attack us?!"

They didn't answer. Instead they started forming hand signs and running in opposite direction – moving around Kanoko, Shizune, and Naruto. Kanoko gritted her teeth, catching the hand signs. Kanoko reached out to grab Naruto and jumped away – Shizune following as the ground below them turned into mud.

The attack didn't stop as the mud rose up in a wave and shot towards them. Kanoko cursed as she dropped Naruto while in midair before slamming her hands on the ground, "Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

A large, hardened mud wall shot up, pushing back on the incoming attack. The force of the mud proved too much for Kanoko – shattering her wall. Kanoko's eyes widened as she was pushed back by the mud. She barely had time to move through it before one of the ninja appeared in front of her. Kanoko swung her body to block his punch, but did so with her injured arm, making her cry out in pain.

The ninja took advantage of her distraction and sent a series of punches into her gut before pulling back and slamming his fist into her face. Kanoko flew back, hitting the ground hard and causing the ground to split from the force.

The ninja flickered over to her, standing in front of her beaten form. He pulled out his tanto and started moving towards Kanoko. Kanoko coughed out blood, eyes blurry as she tried to focus on the ninja. She was jerked up close to his masked face by her collar, giving her a good look at his attire, "…You… You're… A Leaf… ANBU… Why?" Kanoko coughed out.

The ninja paused and seemed to think about her question, "…Because these are my orders." He said, trying to justify his actions. Kanoko just stared at him before coughing out, "…Forgive me then." The ninja tilted his head, completely confused by her words. Swiftly, Kanoko slammed her hand into his chest, causing it to glow dark pink as she solidified her seal.

The ninja jumped back quickly before ripping his shirt off and tossing it behind him. Before the shirt hit the ground, it shined with light before exploding. The explosion was huge as the air shifted around them, pushing rocks and debris across the area.

The explosion caught the other ninja off guard, allowing Shizune to nip him in the side with her poisoned kunai. The ninja jumped back and started to heal his wound, but wasn't quick enough. He fell to the ground – blood spilling out from under his mask.

Shizune made her way over to Kanoko and standing in between Kanoko and the last ninja. He stared at the hole in the ground from the explosion before moving his eyes over his fallen teammates. He turned back to Kanoko and Shizune, "…You are truly a terrifying genin."

Kanoko just scooted back, trying to get close to Naruto, who was still passed out on the ground. Shizune responded to the ninja, "Why is the Leaf ANBU Black Ops trying to kill Kanoko?" Her tone cold and her eyes firm. If this was how the village operated, sending elite ninja after their own children, perhaps she should work harder to convince Lady Tsunade to take the position as Hokage.

The ANBU stared at her. They were unable to read his expression, due to his mask. He placed his tanto back in its sheath before turning away. He turned his head slightly back to them before saying, "…If you wish to rescue your friend, bring the sannin, Jiraiya, to the crossroads outside this village at zero five hundred."

Kanoko's heart dropped as her body twisted to Naruto's fallen form behind her. Standing in his place were three other ANBU Black Ops and over the shoulder of one of them was Naruto's lax form.

" _DAMNIT!_ " Kanoko pushed herself to her feet, forming a hand sign – ready to take Naruto back when she fell to her feet. Kanoko wheezed out air making a large hissing sound as she felt her arm burn up in pain. " _Why does my arm hurt so much?!_ " Kanoko thought, looking at her bandaged arm – her eyes widening when she saw a small piece pulled back and purple starting to take form on her arm.

Shizune's eyes widened, "It- It can't be…!"

The ninja spoke, void of all emotion, "The attack I hit you with is an ability unique to me. That mark is actually nano-sized parasitic insects – feeding off of your chakra and cells – breaking them down and killing you slowly."

Kanoko eyes flickered in pain as her whole body started to shake. The ninja gestured to his team, ordering them to leave. The three of them, plus Naruto, disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving only the leader. The leader turned to Shizune again and spoke to her, "Bring Jiraiya, the sannin, to the crossroads by five in the morning, or the blonde kid will suffer the same fate as her." He finished, gesturing to Kanoko.

Shizune gulped as the ninja disappeared before running and dropping down to Kanoko, who was starting to fall into a seizure – convulsing in pain. Shizune stared at Kanoko, but didn't dare touch her, for worry that she would suffer the same fate, " _What do I do?! What can I do?!_ " Tears started to flow down her face as she watched the small girl die in front of her. She never felt so helpless!

Shizune shut her eyes in frustration and slammed her fist into the ground in anger.

.

"What happened?"

Shizune's watery eyes snapped open. Turning her face up to the voice above: It was that boy who was following Kanoko earlier.

Shino waited for Shizune to answer, but when she stared bewildered at him, he turned to Kanoko. He crouched down as his insects flew out and towards Kanoko. His eyes quickly caught the growing purple on her arm and his eyes widened, " _No… oni-san… This was your mission?_ "

Pulling out a capsule of insects, Shino stopped, " _These insects… They are the only ones I have to repel his parasitic insects… Am I prepared to use them all here?_ " Shino studied Kanoko's shaking form, " _My goal was to help oni-san in his mission… If I do this, I will be betraying him…_ "

Looking around, he noticed a missing piece. Shino looked at Shizune, "…Where is Naruto?"

Shizune looked down before gritting her teeth, "…The ninja that did this to Kanoko… They took him… And said they would do the same to Naruto…" Shizune didn't finish, as she started beating herself up internally for her weakness.

Shino felt his heart stop.

"… _Naruto too?_ " Shino's fists tightened, " _Why would you teach me the importance of friends, if you were just going to take them from me, oni-san?_ " Shino looked at Kanoko again. He felt firm in his decision as he started to open the capsule.

Shino stopped suddenly when Kanoko slammed her other hand down, revealing a scroll in it. She unraveled the scroll before pulling out a brush and started writing in it. In a matter of seconds, the scroll was filled with markings and a circle in the center. Kanoko pushed her damaged arm down on the scroll causing it to glow dark blue.

Shino's and Shizune's eyes widened as they watch the purple blotch get sucked into the scroll. Once all of the nano bugs were gone from her arm, Kanoko solidified the seal and dropped onto her back, panting.

Shino stared at Kanoko, "…How did you do that?" Shizune looked over, also interested in her answer. Kanoko ignored both of them while she rested – her body still shaking from the pain. She stared at the night sky above, her eyes moving from star to star.

Shino and Shizune looked at each other just before they heard a growl. Kanoko growled before slamming her hands on the ground and pushing herself up. Shizune quickly ran over with green chakra pouring out of her hand and placing it on Kanoko, "Wait! You shouldn't be in any condition to move!"

Kanoko just stood, allowing Shizune to heal her before closing her eyes and searching for Jiraiya's chakra signature. When she found it, her eyes snapped open. Kanoko pushed Shizune away gentle before turning to Shino.

Shino shifted slightly at Kanoko firm look. "Now that I am aware of your mission, I must ask you to leave."

Shino stilled before nodding and turning to leave. He was stopped by Kanoko, "But if you truly believed in this mission, you would have killed me when you had the chance."

Shino turned around, looking quizzically at Kanoko, "…You would trust me? Why?"

Kanoko just sighed, crossing her arms, "Remember how I told you that I remember all those of significance?" Shino nodded, not sure where she was going with this, "I do more than remember names and abilities – And with nothing else to grab my attention in the academy, I took my time to learn about each of you." Kanoko looked up to the sky, "…You didn't want any friends in the beginning. We were all an inconvenience for you – I understand that though well, as I felt the same." Kanoko smirked, "But just like you, I was eventually sucked in by the enigma known as Uzumaki Naruto."

Kanoko shrugged, "You may have not spent much time with him or really gotten to know him, but it's those small moments that make you smile, thinking back on – even if you weren't particularly happy at the time."

Shino smirked to himself, thinking about all the pranks they pulled on Kanoko – she was right, each moment with Naruto was one to be cherished. Each moment with all of his classmates brought a small smile to his face. The overly energetic Kiba, the genius sloth Shikamaru, and the kind glutton Choji. Shino could even remember a few calming moments with Sasuke, working on various school projects together as Sasuke couldn't work with any of the girls and most of the boys.

Shino spoke, "And that makes you certain I would not betray you? Why? Perhaps my dedication to this mission is stronger."

Kanoko shook her head, "I believe you have a will stronger than any mission. A will that burns inside you, working in innovating ways to save everyone you care for. You know this mission has gone too far and to save the person you came here to save, you'll work beside us to save him, or her." Kanoko paused, "That's why you continued on this mission of yours, even after you were told not to. It was because you knew this mission would lead to their death if they completed it."

Shino paused, looking down, " _I wanted to help oni-san complete his mission, but Kanoko is right… Oni-san believes he will die on this mission – and so I wish to stop it…_ "

Kanoko shrugged, watching Shino think to himself. Turning around Kanoko spoke one last time, "I won't ask for your help, but I imagine I will see you at the crossroads at zero five hundred. I can only hope that you will fight with us and not against us. In either case… Take care Shino." And with that, Kanoko started off running towards the village, in search for a particular pervy-sage – Shizune following after her.

Shino watched Kanoko's back as she left. He tilted his head towards the stars and watching them twinkle in the night, " _Oni-san... Naruto…_ "

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 **Author's Note: I really hope that came out well! I went back and forth on so many ideas for this plot, but I couldn't quite get it down on paper – until today. So sorry for the wait and I hope to get the second part out soon! I write fight scenes much faster than the "in-between", so here's to hoping!**

 **Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS! Between the long ones that I read over and over trying to take their thoughts into new ideas and the short ones that make me squeal like a four year old, I just love them! So thank you so much for taking the time to review and let me know how it's going!**

 **As always, I will try to get the next chapter out soon, in between work, school, and my crazy dog that demands my attention constantly!**


	26. Chapter 25

Kanoko turned the corner, running through town and towards Jiraiya's chakra signature. Kanoko peered behind her to see Shizune break off from Kanoko – likely to find Tsunade. Kanoko grunted, " _The person who Tsunade is now… I doubt she would aid us._ " Kanoko felt a bit numb after thinking that about her grandniece. She briefly wondered if she played a part in the woman Tsunade is today, but casted it aside. Kanoko had too much to think about concerning getting Naruto back safely. She didn't have time to dwell on her mistakes – as plentiful as they seemed to be.

Kanoko pushed her body harder when she saw a familiar long white haired man sitting at an outside bar. Kanoko skidded passed the flaps and slammed her hand onto the counter, causing Jiraiya to jump – sake going all over his front.

"What the hell?! COME ON!" Jiraiya yelled in frustration before grumbling as the bartender handed him a wash cloth.

"Naruto was taken by ANBU and they demanded we bring you to the crossroads tomorrow – or Naruto dies." Kanoko quickly spoke in one long breath. Kanoko panted lightly while Jiraiya stared at her like she just grew another head. Kanoko internally counted down from ten in her head and just as she reached one, Jiraiya sputtered out, "WHAT?!"

Kanoko bit the inside of her cheek in frustration, "What part of my statement was unclear? The part about Naruto being taken or that he may die?" Kanoko spoke slowly with narrowed eyes, nearing her wit's end.

Jiraiya gave her a dull look, "You know… You have to be the rudest little girl in existence. I am your elder. _**Elder**_." Kanoko just gave him a bland look. Jiraiya sighed before getting serious, "Ok. So you said ANBU took Naruto and they want me in return for him?" Jiraiya rubbed his face to help relieve some stress – it didn't work.

"Why would the ANBU Black Ops want with me?" Jiraiya asked out loud, his hand on his chin. Kanoko looked up at Jiraiya, "…What is it that you do for the village?" Jiraiya looked down at her, "…That's… I can't really tell you that, kid."

Kanoko shrugged, "Perhaps that is your answer – you are a loose end." Jiraiya barked out a laugh, "If that was so, they'd kill me a long time ago!" Kanoko didn't change her expression, "A long time ago Hiruzen was around to protect his student."

Jiraiya stilled before staring at Kanoko, "…You're right…" Jiraiya shook his head, "…But I don't think that is the case… Can you tell me more about the ANBU?"

Kanoko nodded, "There were six in total. Shizune poisoned and killed two – they showed no identifying skills, so I cannot tell you more about them. Three of them showed up after the fight concluded and did not provide me any insight into their abilities either."

Jiraiya pulled at his hair, "You're killing me kid! This is what you call useful information?"

Kanoko gave him an annoyed look, but continued, "…The last was a member of the Aburame clan – a rare insect user. I've seen this- I mean, I've heard of this type of insect user. Rinkaichu: They are an insect, but share common attributes to that of a parasite. They feed off of-"

"Yeah, I got it kid." Jiraiya interrupted Kanoko, not wanting an encyclopedia answer. Kanoko gave him another annoyed look, but Jiraiya ignored it by speaking out loud again, "I only know one person alive with that ability…"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "And this is a clue to the motivation behind this attack?" Jiraiya nodded, "…This unit… They aren't regular ANBU – they're a part of a Leaf organization called "The Foundation" or "Root"."

Kanoko eyes narrowed, "And this… Organization… It's trying to kill you… Or prevent you from something…" Jiraiya nodded slowly, "It could be either… I don't think Danzo would try to kill me – I bring a lot of – I mean, I'm important to the village in a unique way… And I can't imagine what may have changed to make him target me…"

Kanoko's eyebrows flew up, "Danzo? Shimura Danzo?" Jiraiya sighed before reluctantly nodding, "…I'm not ever sure I want to know how you know him…" Jiraiya paused to think, " _Granddaughter of Rokumaru and knows Danzo… This kid…_ "

Kanoko just shook her head at him, "He is a councilman and my father serves the council." Jiraiya disagreed, "No… Your father serves the Hokage." Kanoko chuckled without humor, "Yeah. You keep thinking such ignorant thoughts and I'll remain pragmatic."

Jiraiya's eye twitched, "Look. This isn't getting us any closer to finding the kid. What we need is a plan."

"No. What you need is brute force."

Kanoko and Jiraiya swung their heads around to see Tsunade and Shizune standing before them. Kanoko observed her grandniece and was a little shocked to find her so serious and angry, " _She doesn't even know Naruto… Why is she so upset?_ "

Tsunade pulled Jiraiya by the collar, close to her face, as she growled out, "If you get that kid killed because of your idiotic nature…!" Jiraiya flailed his arms around, "What?! How is this my fault?!"

Tsunade yelled back, "How is it not?! They're after you! And after all those fairytales you put in his head, he's probably going to die trying to escape!" Tsunade was panting now – clearly wanting to punch Jiraiya's lights out.

Kanoko quickly interrupted their fight before everyone lost sight of the true goal here, "We need to stop this squabbling now. I agree with you Tsunade. Naruto will try to escape and he will fail – It is our job to intervene before that happens." Kanoko turned to Jiraiya, "They told us to meet at the crossroads tomorrow morning with you in hand, but I don't think we can wait that long. We need to act now."

Shizune spoke up, "But how are we going to do that? This isn't a group of thugs or regular ninja – This is the ANBU Black Ops we are talking about here. How are we going to find them?"

"With my insects."

The grouped turned around again to find a boy before them: Aburame Shino. Kanoko walked forward, "You spent six days searching for your team with your insects, but came up short. What makes you so certain you can now?"

Jiraiya and Tsunade both turned to Kanoko at her words, "His team?!" Tsunade quickly shot out to grab Shino and send a punch his way. Kanoko cursed while forming a hand sign and slamming her hands to the ground, causing a spike to form from the ground and aim for Tsunade's back. Tsunade flinched – turning to the side to avoid the spike. Her fist hit the ground next to Shino instead – causing a large chasm to form. Tsunade straightened up and turned to Kanoko aggressively, "You little punk… How dare you attack me!"

Kanoko narrowed her eyes, "Stop acting like an adolescent fool by moving on instinct and start presenting yourself as the adult you are. I will provide you the back story of Shino's presence, if you so require, but you will do so in an orderly fashion."

Tsunade shook in anger. Her veins started to pop out from her arms as she tightened her fist and stomped over to Kanoko. Bending down to look her in the eye, Tsunade spat out, "You. Impudent. Brat. Perhaps I don't act my age, but neither do you – so don't school me on proper behavior. My granduncle has done enough of that for a lifetime – and let me tell you, little girl, you aren't nearly as demeaning and imposing as he was."

Kanoko eyes widened slightly at Tsunade's words, " _...Demeaning and imposing… That's how you saw me…_ " Kanoko's eyes drifted to the ground – ashamed of herself. She started to look back and wondered if she had been too hard on Tsunade growing up. Tsunade came from greatness and she showed so much potential – and her grandfather's fame would keep her in constant danger – she had to be strong, there just wasn't any other option. …But maybe Tobirama had gone about it the wrong way.

Tsunade straighten, seeing that she won her argument with Kanoko before turning back to a frightened Shino, "You. Kid. What were you saying before? How can you find Naruto – and let me tell you, if you lie to me… Your death with be neither short nor painless." Tsunade finished, getting really close to Shino.

"Lady Tsunade! This is a child you are speaking to! Show some restraint!" Shizune shouted at her teacher, stepping in-between Tsunade and Shino, facing Tsunade.

Tsunade just glared at her student, but crossed her arms and said nothing. Shizune turned to Shino and spoke softly, "I'm sorry… Shino, was it? Everyone is just on edge by Naruto's kidnapping."

Shino nodded slowly, understanding their worry for the hyperactive blonde, "…I was helping Naruto train – to learn his new jutsu. He and Kanoko had to move every so often, since he kept blowing up the area. Due to this, I placed a female insect on him, so I could find them easily."

Jiraiya nodded, "That's great! If you can use your insects to track him, then we can get moving now!"

Shino nodded before speaking again, "Yes, but there is a problem."

Tsunade scoffed, "Oh? And what's that?"

Kanoko turned to the group, "This leader of the ANBU unit can use Rinkaichu insects, so he will be a formidable opponent. Only Jiraiya and I have the expertise available to handle such an attack. If we get separated from the rest of you and you are hit – you will die." Kanoko paused to watch the groups' reaction. Shizune seemed to take the threat seriously and was looking at the ground, while Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't flinch. " _I remember feeling as they do. You can only nearly die so many times before you become numb to the idea._ "

Focusing on Jiraiya, Kanoko continued, "I will need to show you the seal I used… It is rather crude and may not help you if the damage is too severe." Jiraiya nodded at Kanoko before turning to Tsunade, "Tsunade, this is my battle. You don't have to get involved."

Tsunade scoffed at Jiraiya, "Like hell I don't. Just shut up and tell me what you are planning." Kanoko chuckled lowly at her grandniece, " _Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps you do still have the Will of Fire in you._ "

Kanoko's eyes softened at Tsunade before turning back to Shino with a serious expression, "Is there anything else you can tell us?" Shino shook his head.

Kanoko clicked her teeth, not liking the multiple unknown factors facing them. A thought occurred to her as she turned to the group, "The leader. The Aburame. He believes me to be dead. We could use this to our advantage."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, looking at Kanoko with curious eyes, "What are you thinking?"

Kanoko smirked.

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His eyes felt heavy as he groggily opened them, "Ugg… Where… Am I?" Naruto spoke softly, turning his head a little to look around. All he could see were trees. He moved to stand and his eyes widened when he couldn't. Looking down, he found himself wrapped up tightly in rope and attached to the tree behind him.

"It won't do you any good. Even if you escape the ropes, you'll never escape from me."

Naruto looked up to see a tall man dressed in black with a metal plate on his chest and a white and red mask over his face. Naruto looked at him in awe for a moment, recognizing him as an ANBU of the Leaf. After the moment, Naruto started struggling hard while shouting, "When the hell did you tie me up?! Who are you?!"

The ninja grunted with his arms crossed, "Why am I on annoying kid duty? I swear… I always get the worst assignments..."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and growled, not taking the "annoying kid" comment well. Naruto pulled at the rope and opened his mouth to scream at the ANBU shinobi again when Naruto suddenly smirked.

The ANBU stilled, "…What are you up to…?"

Naruto gave him a fanged smirk before taunting him, "Pfff! I'm going to get out of these bindings easy! And when I do, you'll never find me! HAHAHA!"

The ANBU sighed dramatically, bringing his hands to his temples and rubbing them, "How about we come up with a compromise: You stay relatively silent and I don't knock you out? That sounds reasonable, doesn't it?"

Naruto tilted his head, looking as if he was thinking about it before speaking, "Hmmm. Well… I suppose…"

The ANBU signed in relief, "Great. See? That wasn'-"

He didn't get to finish before Naruto shouted, "SEXY JUTSU!"

A puff of smoke blew appeared, surrounding the area around the tree. Not knowing what was occurring, the ANBU quickly dove into the smoke to find Naruto.

When the smoke cleared enough for the ANBU to see, he froze.

"…Oh my… Look at me… All tied up!" Squeaked out a harmonic female voice. Attached to the tree was a blonde angel with the ropes pressed into her hefty chest, just barely covering the nipples. Her legs shifted as her knees slightly parted before coming together again. With each movement, the ropes loosened – revealing more of her body.

The ANBU was frozen stiff – mind completely blank.

Naruto waited for a moment, but when he heard a giggled followed by the slight of red liquid dripping from the ninja's chin, Naruto went in for the killing blow.

Bending forward, he blinking innocently, "Ahh! Mister! Please…. I need your help…. SOOO BADLY!"

A shiver ran through the ninja's spine before falling backwards like a plank – completely passed out from blood loss.

*POOF*

"Hehehe… Gets them every time!" Naruto giggled out, pulling off the ropes and running away.

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Kanoko leaped from branch to branch – moving through the trees efficiently and effectively. Not far behind her was Shino, giving her directions to Naruto. Not long after they started, Shino informed her that his position was on the move, and moving further away from them. This got Kanoko pushing herself to move faster, but had to slow down for Shino.

"To the left." Shino told Kanoko, making both of them veer to the left.

Kanoko stared ahead, " _Naruto… Just hold on…_ " Her mind wondered to her grandniece and Jiraiya, " _I can only hope they are in position, or rescuing Naruto is going to get a lot harder…_ "

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"What is taking so loooong?!" Tsunade tapped her foot impatiently, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Jiraiya looked up from his work, "Would you calm down?! It's not like you have to worry about getting old while waiting because let me tell you princess, that ship has already sailed." Jiraiya responded, gving her a dull look.

"Why you!" Tsunade tightened a fist and held it above Jiraiya.

"Lady Tsunade! We need to let Jiraiya work! Kanoko and Shino are relying on us!" Shizune shouted to her sensei, trying to be the voice of reason.

Tsunade scoffed, crossing her arms, "And that's another thing... Letting the little girl come up with our battle plan. What were you thinking, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya just shook his head, continuing on his task, "I was thinking that she is the daughter of the village's jounin commander and comes from a long line of highly intelligent and strategic minds."

"You forgot selfish and backstabbing." Tsunade added with a grunt. Jiraiya sighed heavily, "…Shikaku's not like that…"

Tsunade just looked away, "They say wickedness skips a generation."

"No they don't." Shizune told Tsunade with a frown. Kanoko had shown nothing, but loyalty to the village and her friends. Shizune was willing to give her the benefit of doubt. They did for Shikaku and look how that turned out.

"Done!" Jiraiya shouted with a cheer.

"Finally…" Tsunade grumbled out, "Now for the next step. Tonton!" The small pig snorted before jumping out of Shizune's arms and standing in front of Tsunade, "I'm hoping you got a good scent from the ninjas when they attacked before." The pig nodded with an "oink" before running off into the trees.

"Let's go!" Tsunade roared, following after – Shizune and Jiraiya a step behind.

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"Hehehe." Naruto giggled to himself as he moved carefully through the bushes – covering his tracks as he went. "I have a lifetime of escaping from Iruka-sensei and old man Hokage! Nice try you stupid masked freak, but no one can trap the great Uzumaki Naruto! Believe it!" He told himself in a hushed voice.

He wandered the area for a bit before stopping and looking around, "…I have no idea where I am… Shit." Naruto put a finger on his chin, his eyes narrowing while he thought through his situation. His mind drifted back to the Chunin Exams, when he told Kanoko about his new cool ability: Summoning Toads.

 _Kanoko nodded to him, a hand on her chin, "That is very impressive. Not many have the chakra, skill, and prominence to both summon a creature from the summoning world and acquire it's permission to summon it and its clan in the future." Sakura looked at Kanoko, shocked that Naruto did something so impressive. Kanoko continued to ramble, "…I have heard about ninjas summoning creatures that did not accept them as a summoner and as penitence – kill them for summoning them in the first place."_

 _Naruto went pale as he gulped, thinking about being eaten alive by a toad… He shivered at the thought._

 _Kanoko looked back at Naruto, "I must admit… I never really delved into learning what the toad clan from Mount Myoboku offers… Most summons are used as an offensive force or to track others…" Kanoko continued with her thoughts and observations, but Naruto had long stopped listening._

Naruto's head shot up as he thought, " _Tracking! That's it! I can summon a toad to track Kanoko or pervy-sage!_ "

Finding a particularly private spot, he crouched down and whispered t himself, "Ok, here we go! Summoning jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke appeared a small orange toad, "Yo!"

Naruto grinned wide at Gamakichi. Gamakichi sweat-dropped, "Hey! I don't like how you're looking at me! I ain't gonna make a nice soup – let me tell you!"

Naruto chuckled at Gamakichi, "Haha! Good one! No, Gamakichi I need to you track down Kanoko, my teammate. We got separated earlier and I need to get back."

Gamakichi shrugged with his hands up, "Sorry kid, but I ain't that kind of toad." Naruto's jaw dropped, "WHAAA! What good are you!?" Gamakichi crossed his arms, "…I don't like your tone…"

Naruto rubbed his face in frustration, "…Guess I'll have to think of something else." He sat down on his butt, crisscrossed before rubbing his chin with his hand in thought. Gamakichi jumped on Naruto's head, "Where are we anyways?"

Naruto grunted, "If I knew that, do you think I would have summoned you?" Gamakichi shrugged, "I don't know. You're a weird kid – I don't want to know what goes on in that head of yours."

"That's it!" Naruto yelled angrily, grabbing Gamakichi and pulling him in front of his face, "Listen here you little–" Gamakichi pointed behind Naruto, yelling, "Watch out!"

Naruto ducked as the ninja reached out to grab him – missing him by a hair. Gamakichi quickly responded to Naruto's aid, despite their argument, and shot a ball of hot water at the ninja. The ANBU shinobi jumped back easily, chuckling lowly at the two of them.

"You… You're going to pay for making me look like an idiot." He spoke in a deep voice. Naruto just stuck his tongue at him with his hands together, forming a hand sign, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The ANBU took a step back as the area was flooded with Narutos. " _Damnit… I had no idea the Jinchuriki could use the shadow clone jutsu… I can't pinpoint which one's the real one… Guess I'll just have to start slicing._ " The ANBU thought, pulling out a sword and blowing through the clones at a rapid pace.

Naruto's eyes widened at the speed the ninja was plowing through his clones. Naruto picked up Gamakichi and started running away from the shinobi, using his clones as cover.

"Ah!" Naruto yelled, backing up and falling in his rush. In front of him was the ANBU shinobi with his hand on his hip while the other swung his sword around in a playful manner, "Let me give you some advice brat. If you make an army of clones to cover your escape, don't bring your very distinguishable summon with you." Gamakichi smiled guiltily while he rested on Naruto's head.

The ANBU slowly approached the sweating Naruto, "It's time for you to go to sleep." He spoke in a low tone, bring the blunt edge of his sword into Naruto's shoulder.

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*POOF*

The clone of Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. "What the- When did he?!" The man exclaimed, turning around and searching the area for a blonde hair ninja in orange attire. The ANBU quickly raced away from his position to find Naruto.

.

"Good one Naruto!" Gamakichi praised, clapping his webbed hands together. Naruto popped his head out from the bush he was hiding. Naruto chuckled evilly, while rubbing his nose in achievement, "Just as gullible as the ANBU in the village…"

"I don't even want to know why you are so familiar with the tactics of the Leaf ANBU…"

Naruto spun his head around – his eyes widening, "KANOKO!" He shouted, running towards her and leaping to hug her.

Kanoko side step.

*BAM*

Naruto went face first in the tree behind Kanoko – slowly sliding down and leaving a mark on the tree, "…Stuck up jerk…" Naruto groaned out, half of it muffled by the tree.

"We should not be fooling around. Why? Because the threat is still at large." Shino spoke in a stoic voice. Naruto turned around while holding a hand to his injured face, "Why do you always got to speak so weirdly."

Shino raised an eyebrow at Naruto, as if to say, "And you don't?", but Kanoko spoke up, interrupting the two of them, "Naruto. Focus."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto rolled his eyes.

Kanoko crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, "One "yes" is acceptable."

Shino sighed internally, wondering why he decided to help these two…

"You should have listened to Shino. I may have not caught up to the three of you otherwise." The ANBU from before appeared before them, looking a bit irritated at being tricked by Naruto- of all people.

Naruto scoffed and Kanoko spoke on Naruto's behalf, "You honestly believe we would have lost you? Better to face you on our terms then have you ambush us while we were on the move." Naruto nodded in a condescending fashion before Kanoko scoffed, "No wonder Konoha's ANBU death rate is so high, if you represent the standard."

The shinobi's hand tightened around his sword, "…You watch your mouth brat. You don't get to insult the honorable shinobi who gave their lives for the village…" He aggressively swung his sword out, pointing it at Kanoko, "And you have no idea who you are messing with!"

Kanoko's expression didn't change as she ran through a series of one handed hand signs, "Water Style: Hot Water Jet!" Kanoko sucked in before bending and shooting a large jet of water from her mouth right towards the ANBU. He quickly evaded the steaming water and jumped over it to attack Kanoko head on.

"Parasite Insects: Typhoon!" Shino spoke firmly as a horde of insects swarmed around the surprised ANBU and swirling around him – creating a typhoon. The ANBU swung his sword around at the insects, completely missing them. In a panic, he shouted, "What the hell Shino! Why are you attacking me?!"

Shino paused in his attack, suddenly unsure by his actions. This gave the ANBU enough of a break in the bug typhoon to escape and head straight for Kanoko again – seeing her as the true threat. Kanoko narrowed her eyes and pulled out her sword.

*CLANK*

The swords clashed with a large noise – both holding their stances. The ANBU stilled before pulling back and swinging sideways at Kanoko. Kanoko quickly countered his attack, sliding her sword across his and skimming the tip at his mask as he leaned away. Jumping back he took a defensive stance, "…Where did you learn such… effective swordsmanship?"

Kanoko didn't answer, and instead pointed up.

The ANBU was confused, but turned his eyes up – just in case. His eyes widened underneath his mask as a horde of Naruto's appeared in the sky – heading straight for the ANBU. He took another stance, getting ready to cut them all down in one blow, when something… Unexpected… Happened.

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"SECRET NINJA ART: A THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!"

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.

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"AHHH!" The ANBU screamed, feeling the most terrifying violation he has ever experienced in his life.

.

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Being roughly poked in the "No, no" zone.

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.

.

After flying through the air, the ANBU hit the ground hard. Shino's bugs quickly flew out and around the dazed ANBU shinobi. As the bugs ate away at his chakra, Shino crouched down to say softly, "…Forgive me."

Kanoko walked over, looking down at the passed out shinobi before looking back at Naruto with a raised eyebrow, "…I'm not letting you learn anything else from that perverted old man. Honestly… What would possess you to use such a cruel and disgusting attack?" Kanoko rubbed her forehead in frustration, "…I bet he would have preferred to get kicked in the balls, then to have someone's… I can't even say it."

Naruto just shrugged with his hands, "I actually learned it from Kakashi-sensei… And hey, it works! You can't argue with results! "

Kanoko wasn't listening to Naruto as her eyes focused on his pointer finger, "… _I'm never letting Naruto touch me or my food again…_ "

Shino walked up to beside Kanoko, "…I must request that you remain in front of me at all times. I will take it as an act of war to find you positioned near my backside."

Naruto just rolled his eyes at them, "Whatever! Are we gonna get going or just stand around, giving me a hard time for my awesomeness!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow before nodding with her eyes closed, "I guess I did give my word to the old fool that I would return to help…"

The three of them took off into the forest before Naruto followed up on Kanoko's comment, "I don't know what sort of war you two got going on, but I have a feeling one of you will be missing an arm by the end of it."

Kanoko scoffed, "Hardly. You and Sasuke on the other hand? Let's just say you should start learning one handed seals as soon as possible."

Naruto growled at Kanoko, while leaping through the leaves, "Yeah right! Sasuke-teme just wishes he is amazing as me! If we ever got into it for real, he'd be begging me for mercy!" Naruto finished with a foxy grin on his face.

Shino joined in, "I agree with Kanoko. Why? –"

"Oh shut it Shino! I'm freakin awesome!" Naruto shouted, grumbling at the lack of faith of his classmates and friends. Instead of Shino taking Naruto's words poorly, he smirked slightly – being very used to Naruto's behavior.

Kanoko stared ahead, ignoring the both of them as they argued playfully. Kanoko started planning her next step when her left arm grazed against a branch.

Kanoko gritted her teeth as her eyes shifted to her arm, " _Damn… My arm was in poor condition before this mission. Now, after the fight with the Aburame and the little skirmish with that ninja, it's even worse…_ " Kanoko moved her eyes away from her arm and back on the path ahead, " _I can't form chakra with that arm right now, forcing me use one handed hand signs with my dominant hand and use my sword with my non-dominant hand."_

Shino noticed Kanoko continuing to check her arm and spoke up, "Did the insects cause you permanent damage?" Kanoko shook her head, "…No. I damaged it during the Chunin Exams. The fight with the Aburame only further damaged it…" Shino nodded in understanding, "I heard about the Chunin Exams and the attack on Suna… I was disappointed to not be there as well…"

Kanoko gave him a funny look, "You **wanted** to be in the middle of an invasion?" Kanoko looked back at Naruto, " _Sounds like someone else I know._ " Naruto looked back at Kanoko with a suspicious look, "I don't like the look you're giving me…"

Shino ignored them, "…I wanted to help the village… And many of my friends were there as well… Also… I would have liked to test my skills against worth opponents."

Kanoko shook her head at him, but Shino continued, "…There is talk among the ANBU of a genin defeating the Sand's secret weapon…"

"They are talking about Naruto." Kanoko said simply. Naruto's face glowed with stars in his eyes while looking over at Kanoko in happiness at her compliment. Shino nodded, "I had thought so… There are not many other blonde haired ninja dressed in eye blinding orange."

Kanoko chuckled lowly at Shino's remarks while Naruto cried out, "What the hell is wrong with orange?! Orange is the new black! Didn't you hear?!"

Shino wasn't finished, "There was also talk among the ANBU about the Hokage's battle. Apparently the Second Hokage broke free from Orochimaru's, the leader of the enemy ninja, curse and fought alongside the Third Hokage and the Sannin Jiraiya. According to the ANBU who watched the fight, it was… A terrifying performance. The Second Hokage was required to face his brother, the First Hokage, in battle."

Sensing more to his statement, Kanoko stopped on a branch and turned to Shino, "…Where are going with this?"

Shino paused and looked down slightly, "I wonder what was going through the Second Hokage's mind while facing his brother… Even if he was acting for the benefit of his village… To fight your own brother… To the death…"

Kanoko crossed her arms, "They were both dead, so you can't really say it was a fight to the death." Shino didn't respond to Kanoko's statement. Sighing internally, Kanoko continued, "…But I think… It was more than just the village he was fighting for."

Shino looked up, "…What do you mean?"

Kanoko stared back at him, expressionless, "His student, the Third Hokage, was there as well. I imagine he was fighting to save his student as well."

Shino thought about it for a moment before speaking, "…But the Third Hokage still died. And the Second Hokage left before his death. If he was truly determined to save his student, why did he leave?"

Rejecting the urge to rub her temples, Kanoko just answered simply, "We don't actually know what caused the Second Hokage to leave… Maybe the seal holding him to this realm failed or something more pressing came up…"

"More pressing than his student's, the Third Hokage's, life?" Shino questioned.

Kanoko's eye twitched, " _Yes, I screwed up. Thank you for dissecting my actions so astutely. That is_ _ **seriously**_ _the_ _ **last**_ _time I save Shikamaru… First, I get chastised by Shikaku, after which, my own brother abandons me when I get sacked by the loudest genin in the history of the Leaf, then I receive a speech of disappointment from Yoshino_ _ **and**_ _Kakashi-sensei, and now this...!_ _ **You are on your own from here on out, Shikamaru!**_ "

 _ **In Konoha**_

"Acho!"

"Hey, Shikamaru! You coming down with a cold?" Choji asks his buddy, sitting up from his position. They were on top of the academy roof watching the clouds, in an effort to hide from their teammate, Ino, and Shikamaru's father.

Shikamaru rubbed his nose as he glared at the sky, " _I have this odd feeling of abandonment… And my gut says it has something to do with my troublesome sister…_ " Shikamaru continued to glare at the clouds in the sky – his eyes stuck on one in particular.

Choji turned his head towards the clouds again when Shikamaru didn't respond, "Hey!" Choji pointed in the air, "Doesn't that one look like the Second Hokage's head? Like on the mountain side!"

Shikamaru scrutinized it with bored eyes, "…I guess."

Choji leaned back on his hands before turning to his friend with an interested look, "Well… What do you think it looks like?"

Shikamaru didn't move his eyes from the cloud drifting by, "...Troublesome…"

His friend chuckled at him, "I don't know… It doesn't look like Kanoko to me."

Shikamaru smirked at Choji before shrugging and turning onto his side – closing his eyes for a nice, relaxing nap.

 _ **Back with Kanoko, Shino, and Naruto**_

Shino looked at Kanoko with a sweat-drop on the back of his head, as he watched Kanoko stew. Letting out a deep breath, Kanoko turned back to Shino with a serious look, "You're right. On all accounts."

Shino raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak when Kanoko interrupted him, "Which is why I believe he faced his older brother, not for the village or his student – though I do believe they were factors on his mind." Kanoko paused at looked up at the night sky, "But I believe the Second Hokage fought so hard against his brother – fighting him in a way no brother should – because he knew it was the only way to save him: Hashirama, the First Hokage."

Shino's eyes widened slightly, "…What do you mean?"

Kanoko kept her eyes on the stars above, "He, the First Hokage, was being used in a way Hashirama would never agree with – the very idea was against his whole being. So, the Second Hokage, Tobirama, fought to preserve his brother's ideals and to save him from himself – so the First Hokage would never have to regret what he had done."

"Save him… From himself?" Shino asked tentatively.

Kanoko nodded, turning back to Shino, "Can you imagine the pain the First Hokage would feel, emotionally, for attacking his own people and destroying his own village… It would kill him in ways no weapon ever could." Kanoko finished, whispering out the last part.

Shino looked up at the stars, thinking about Kanoko's words. Moments passed before Shino spoke softly, "…My brother… He is the one who attacked you… But had he the choice… He would have never done so… Why? Because his heart is much kinder and caring than most." Shino paused, thinking about Torune when they were growing up, "You were right, before. I did not want to interact with the others at the academy… But oni-san… He asked me every day if I had made a friend. Every day he told me how important friends were and to cherish them forever."

Naruto and Kanoko listened carefully to Shino as he continued, "…It was later that I learned of his… Curse. The insects that feed off of other's cells and chakra – they live in his body. Many, including himself, were afraid he would harm the other students, and as such, was not allowed to interact with those his age or attend the academy." Shino paused, finding his words, "He was lonely – he wanted friends more than anything…"

Shino looked at Naruto and Kanoko, "…It was that deep desire he had that made me interested in friends of my own – even if it was just to make him happy that I would not suffer as he did."

Naruto stared at the ground, caught in his thoughts and his past. Kanoko was also silent. She could not relate – never running into the issue of loneliness or segregation. In her time as Tobirama, staying alive was a team effort and no one had time for anything else. In her second life, she received more human contact then she ever wanted – or was even comfortable with. Shikamaru decided at an early age to discover a way to be permanent connected to her and didn't waste any opportunity to bug her.

However…

Kanoko turned her head to Naruto.

Naruto stared at the ground with his fists tight. For what felt like forever, he was looked at differently, treated differently, and he had no idea why. He tried gaining favor – as brief as it may have been, he did try. When that didn't work, he stepped right into the role of a comedian. That lasted for a while before people stopped laughing – stopped paying attention to him. With a sizzling anger at being ignored, he turned his "humorous" activities to "rebellious". **This** got their attention – be it negative or positive – he was **someone** again.

Naruto looked over to Kanoko who was giving him a bored look. He remembered the first time she saw him and not through him. As he thought about it, no matter what the circumstance, Kanoko never saw through Naruto or ignored him – not to say she didn't try (and boy, did she try), but she always faced him with seriousness.

She still was a stuck up know it all with a perfectionist mentality and was one of the coldest and most distant people he has ever met – _**Shikamaru**_ has **foregone naps** , just to get some sort of emotional reaction. Kanoko may show comfort and even anger sometimes, but everyone is always suspicious that she doesn't really care.

Sakura, in a lot of ways, was the polar opposite to Kanoko. Naruto thought about his pink haired crush. Sakura carried her emotions on her sleeve and cared so much for the people around her – to her detriment some of the time. She felt all of her emotions strongly, but that didn't make her less of a ninja either. She studied hard to learn how to be a better ninja and it showed in how strong her basic ninja skills were – which were even better than some of the boys.

Naruto chuckled lowly, thinking of the gang. Dog-boy Kiba, big-boned and kind Choji, the laziest bastard to ever exist: Shikamaru, and even the elusive Shino. All of them so unique and never **quite** the best of pals – fighting with each other here and there over stupid stuff and splitting ways, but they were still friends: There for each other if needed.

Naruto thought about inviting Sasuke-teme at one point, but took one look at his face before getting angry and starting another fight. Oh well. His fan club would have been, to quote a certain Nara, "Too troublesome to deal with."

Naruto looked over to Shino, who had been quite this whole time - waiting for Kanoko or Naruto to speak. Naruto thought again to Shino's brother, Torune's, situation. Naruto was still unclear on everything that had happened since he had been kidnapped like, why did Shino's brother attack them, who was he after, what is his mission, who is Shino really… There were so many questions on his mind.

Deciding to ask a few, Naruto spoke, "Shino… Why did your brother attack Kanoko then?"

Shino stilled, "…I can't say."

Kanoko crossed her arms, "Can't or won't?" Kanoko paused, "Jiraiya and I already suspect why you and your brother, along with a team of ANBU, are here, but I want to hear it from you."

Naruto turned from Kanoko, who he was giving a questionable look, to Shino, waiting for his answer. Shino stay still, with his hands in his jacket pockets, "I do not know the mission objective – only oni-san was given that information."

Kanoko stretched her neck by tilting it slightly, she expected such an answered, but was getting frustrated with the run around, "Then who gave you the mission? Surely you know who your commander is."

Shino nodded.

Naruto and Kanoko waited for Shino to follow up his response. When he did not, Kanoko rubbed her temple, "Allow me to reconstruct that sentence, **who** sent you on this mission?"

Shino shook his head.

Naruto scratched his head, "Ok, I'm lost. Do you or do you not know who your leader is?"

"I do." Shino told them.

"Then why can't you tell us?" Naruto asked, speaking before Kanoko could get her question out.

Shino took a moment to think about his next response. Instead of speaking, he just pulled his collar down and opened his mouth wide. Naruto and Kanoko walked up and peered into his mouth, "…A seal. How despicable." Kanoko spoke, partly in awe at the ingenuity of the creator and partly in disgust for implanting such on thing on an ally.

Naruto looked at the black mark on Shino's tongue before turning to Kanoko, "What kind of seal is that? I've never seen you do one like that before."

Shino looked at Kanoko, curious, while Kanoko answered, "It is a body seal designed to activate if certain conditions are met – similar to the one on Hyuuga Neji, though some of the properties are different. From what I have gathered by Shino's statements, or lack thereof, and my own knowledge of seals, this seal blocks the owner from speaking of topics considered forbidden by the caster. I do see how this type of seal could be a great benefit to the village. Our ninjas would not just be bound by commitment to keep our secrets, but also be completely unable to speak them – even if they wish to."

Naruto frowned before opened his mouth to question Kanoko. However, she once again interrupted him, "However… The Hyuuga clan is a great example of seal misuse and abuse. We, as people, have not demonstrated the fortitude to stay true to our morals and ethical justices, as well as resilience against forgoing those values in the face of peril." Kanoko's eyes drifted to Naruto's stomach, "For a long time, we've been forcing seals on many for the sake of war, peace, or just simply fear."

Kanoko looked up at the blue sky as leaves dance past her face, "…I, myself, am guilty of this. I cannot say I have changed much either. I am still just as willing to do almost anything for the safety of my village, but…" Kanoko rolled her eyes as she smirked at Naruto, "I'm being shown the errors of my ways by the great _Uzumaki_ Naruto – the next _Hokage_."

Naruto jumped in the air with a fist high, "BELIEVE IT!"

Shino chuckled lowly at Naruto's antics before Kanoko caught his attention again, "But I was serious about my new disapproval of seals, such as your own. Would you allow me to be rid of it for you?"

Shino paused, thinking carefully about Kanoko's offer. Tentatively, he asked, "…I am not sure. If you do get rid of it and I go back without it…"

Naruto quickly interrupted, "We won't let you go back to this mysterious bastard! I don't know what he's planning, but you don't get to treat people like how he's treating you and your brother – fighting against your own friends and comrades! To me, he's worse than SCUM!"

Shino was still unsure, "…This man… He is very powerful in the Leaf village. How could a group of genin protect my brother and I when we cannot even defend ourselves against him?"

Naruto puffed his chest out. Kanoko raised an eyebrow and thought, " _If he says it's because he's going to be Hokage one day, I'm going to knock him out…_ "

Naruto grinned wide before confidently speaking, "Because I know who the next Hokage is and after today, she's going to own me BIG!"

Shino's eyes went wide, "…You can't possibly mean Lady Tsunade? I thought you told her that she couldn't possibly be Hokage?"

Kanoko turned to Shino, with a suspicious eye still on Naruto, "No… No. Listen to Naruto. He's got this weird genjutsu magic that he spews all over people. So far, the only two things he has spoken of that haven't come true is him and Sakura going steady and becoming Hokage – and I believe the latter may be possible."

Naruto's eyes sparked, "…Kanoko…"

Kanoko continued, "But Sakura's never going to go out with him – it is really quite sad."

Naruto felt as though a brick house labelled, "never going to happen" just fell on him, "…Why are you so mean to me…" Naruto wailed softly.

Shino chuckled lightly before seriously taking in Naruto's earlier words. Could he trust Naruto to make true on his promise? A lot is riding on it. If Naruto is wrong and Tsunade doesn't become the Hokage, or decides to turn them back over to the foundation, then…

Shino looked from Naruto to Kanoko and back to Naruto.

Kanoko was right. There's something about Naruto…

With new resolve, Shino turned to Kanoko and nodded.

With his approval, Kanoko pushed chakra into her right arm. She reached out and opened Shino's mouth with her left hand. He held his mouth open wide as she brought her right hand to his tongue and started unlocking the seal.

Shino cried out at the pain, struggling from Kanoko's grasp before she finally let him go. Shino stumbled back, holding his mouth. He looked up to her, "…You could have warned me it would be so painful."

Kanoko didn't respond, instead she asked the question she has been most curious to confirm, "Who ordered you to complete this mission?"

Shino paused for a moment in worry before tentatively speaking, "A councilman. Shimura Danzo."

Kanoko closed her eyes and sucked in a large amount of air, " _I should have paid more attention to him after seeing him with Shikamaru. Had I known he had a whole underground organization… I probably would have locked Shikamaru in a closet before waging war with Shikaku._ " Kanoko was beyond herself with anger, disappointment, and a small amount of fear.

This _underground_ army was **exactly** what she was aiming to avoid when she had created the ANBU as Tobirama. The intent was to make an elite group of ninja to carry out sensitive missions of great importance. She was aware that forming the ANBU as she had, they would become something akin to a shadow: You know it's there, but you may not always see it or remember its presence.

But this… This Foundation… Root… Whatever it's called, was a disaster waiting to happen. And Tobirama knew all about disaster policies. As Kanoko, the moment she saw the Uchiha clan, she knew she had acted in the wrong by giving them the power to police the community. Not to say that the Uchiha were corrupt or policed poorly, but rather, her actions caused a chasm between the Uchiha and the village – something she will regret for some time to come.

"Never heard of him." Naruto droned out.

Kanoko just shook her head, " _Perhaps I should take the time to educate Naruto on politics and the undercurrent of competing powers. He should at least know the players in the game – for at the very least, to avoid them._ "

Shino opened him mouth to tell Naruto about Danzo when a large boom was heard in the distance. All of their heads jerked in that direction just as they saw birds and smoke flee the area. In a second, they were off – running rapidly through the trees.

"Dammit! We need to hurry up!" Naruto shouted, pushing his legs harder. Kanoko stared at Naruto's back, " _He's really worried about Jiraiya…_ " Kanoko thought, shifting her eyes to Shino, " _He's not the only one either…_ "

Kanoko turn her eyes ahead with a determined look, " _I have something to lose as well… Tsunade… Be safe and be smart. We will be there soon._ "

00000000000000000000000000000

Tsunade jumped back to where Jiraiya was perched, "To think, we've gotten so old that a mere three ANBU can hold their own against the likes of us." Jiraiya looked up from he's scroll – sealing away another set of parasites from the Aburame, "Just keep playing along. We have to keep them busy long enough for Shino and Kanoko to get Naruto."

Tsunade scoffed, "My slugs are faster than them at this rate." She said, watching Shizune hold her own with one of the shinobi while the other two waited for the ground to settle after Tsunade's massive attack. The ground was completely obliterated with smoke rising from the blow.

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade's back as she rushed forward for another attack, " _We're just lucky that they haven't figured out her fear of blood yet. When that happens… My job's going to get a whole lot harder._ " Jiraiya thought as he jumped back from another attack from the ANBU unit's leader, " _And this guy… He's skilled and deadly, but he'd never be able to kill Tsunade or I – not without a small army._ "

Jiraiya used his hair to block another of his attacks before he spoke, "Tell me. Why has Danzo asked you to kill me and why do you follow his orders? You must know that this was a suicide mission – you'll never be able to kill me, especially not with princess around."

"Ha! As if I'm doing this to protect you!" Tsunade shouted, pulling a tree out of the ground and using it like a bat to swing at the ninjas.

Jiraiya sweat-dropped, but turned serious again. The Aburame jumped back and stood firm, "I will do as my village asks. I know what my village asks is always in its best interest."

Jiraiya frowned, "…To think Danzo has you all so brain washed." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes when he saw no reaction from the man before him, "…Strike that. I don't think you even believe in the words you speak… Why are you really doing this?"

Torune stared at the sannin before him. He knew every word out of the man was correct, but continued to deny it. He needed to complete this mission and he would – no matter the cost.

Moving forward again, Torune removed his shirt as purple covered his body, "Ninja Art: Insect Mist!" Torune appeared in front of Jiraiya, whose eyes went wide as he watch the purple lift off of the Aburame's body and float in the air like mist.

Jiraiya barely had time to react as his hair moved to cover him, but not before the side of his face and shoulder were covered in purple.

"AHHH!" Jiraiya cried out, jumping back and falling to the ground to pull out a scroll. Torune did not hesitate and went in for another attack to finish the sannin.

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade yelled, distracting her from her opponent, which proved to be a mistake. The shinobi before her shot a wind jutsu, cutting Tsunade's face. Her eyes widened as her hold body stiffed, " _R-r-r-red… B-b-b-blood…!_ " Tsunade, completely petrified.

Seeing her sensei's blood and frozen state, Shizune quickly ran over and pushed the shinobi back – shooting poisonous needles at him. When he pulled back, Shizune's eyes turned from her sensei back to Jiraiya.

Torune was closing in. He started rolling through hand signs, the ground pulling up and following him for a great attack. Torune stopped a few feet in front of Jiraiya, who was desperately trying to remove the parasites while they invaded his whole right side.

"Forgive me." Torune spoke, the earth above him twisting into a drill and spinning down torward the sannin in a burst of speed.

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"RASENGAN!" Three Naruto's shouted, diving in front of his sensei and stopping the twisting earth in its tracks.

"ARGG!" Naruto growled out as the earth collided with his Rasengan, both equal in force and spinning speed. Torune pushed out chakra to break his attack passed Naruto, but Naruto was not about to lose in a fight of wills.

"RAWW!" Naruto roared, pushing back with his fist, the chakra in his attack getting more concentrated and powerful. Torune's eyes widened as he watched the earth started to chip away – succumbing to the pressure of Naruto's attack.

Jiraiya's eyes widened, momentary distracted from his work on the removing the parasites, " _That little… He actually did it!_ "

"You should have never doubted him, but I imagine you will learn with time – or so I can only hope."

Jiraiya's head jerked to the side as he felt the insects be pulled from his side. Kanoko was crouched down with a scroll open and glowing – quickly pulling the parasites from him.

"Hm. I guess your right… This time." Jiraiya spoke quickly, not allowing Kanoko any victories.

Kanoko ignored him as she focused on pulling the parasites into the scroll.

"How…? That's- That's the Fourth Hokage's jutsu!" Torune spoke in awe. Naruto pushed out a broken chuckle – all of his energy going towards his attack, "Because I'm going… to fight to protect… my sensei… and my friends..." Naruto took a step forward, more of the earth splitting from Naruto's attacked, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto…" Torune ran through a series of hand signs and called up more earth to support his attack – making Naruto take step back, "And I'm going to be…" Naruto slammed his foot into the ground, one of his clones breaking off to push him from behind, "HOKAGE ONE DAY! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto screamed, pushing through the earth, splitting it completely in half and crumbling it into pieces before his attack continued past the earth.

Torune's eyes widened as he watched the ball of chakra head straight for him, " _I can't avoid this!_ " Torune thought, flinching as the Rasengan closed in.

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Torune stilled, complete baffled as Naruto stood in front of him with determined eyes and panting. Naruto's Rasengan had faded on his command and was now just standing in front of Torune. Confused, Torune tentatively asked, "I…I don't understand. Why did you stop?"

"Because you are important to my friend." Naruto answered, still panting from the overexcertion.

Torune was silent before speaking, "I…"

"Please oni-san. We need not fight Naruto and his sensei."

Torune whipped his head around, "…Shino! I told you to leave!" Shino nodded, "Yes… I would3 apologize, but I wouldn't mean it. Why? Because you are important to me and I wasn't going to leave you to die."

Torune shook his head, "I wasn't…" He turned his head to the ground slightly, knowing Shino's words to be the truth, "…Shino. Please. Leave."

Shino shook his head, "No. I won't leave you to die. Why are you doing this anyways? What benefit could Konoha see by Jiraiya-sannin's death?"

Torune sighed, his shoulders dropping, "It doesn't matter. I will complete my mission. So Shino, please! Leave!"

Naruto intervened, "What the hell?! Your brother is begging you to stop and you won't! For what?! The chance to kill one of your comrades?!" Naruto started shaking his head aggressively with his fists tight, "Shino told me you were a kind person who only wanted to be a part of something – to have friends. That you would never hurt your comrades, but HERE YOU ARE! Nothing, but a fake, a liar and a traitor!"

Torune spoke softly with his fist tight, "I have no choice. This is a mission of high importance given to me by my village…"

Tsunade and Shizune approached – Tsunade still a bit shaken – with the ANBU shinobi on the ground behind them, "I find it hard to believe the Leaf village without a Hokage would even be giving missions – let alone ones against its own."

Torune looked at his comrades on the ground, " _Forgive me._ " He shifted his eyes back to Tsunade's, "Even without a Hokage, the village faces perils – now even more so."

"And I am one of them?" Jiraiya asked, slowly standing as Kanoko closes the scroll.

"Please oni-san. Can't you see that the mission is over, regardless? It is only you left and both sannin still stand. Please oni-san." Shino quietly begged Torune.

Torune's eyes softened at Shino. Even though Shino was twelve now and a shinobi, Torune still saw him as the little child he first met. Torune closed his eyes, "…Shino. I don't have a choice. Please."

Shino was visible saddened by his brother's refusal to leave. Why couldn't he see that he would die if he continued?!

Naruto growled again, "I don't get it! What's so important that you would give your life up and hurt Shino like this?! What kind of messed up brother are you?!"

Kanoko walked forward. She stood just behind Naruto, looking at Torune, "The kind that will die for his family."

Everyone's head jerked to Kanoko, surprised by her statement – even Torune.

"...You're wrong. I'm doing this for the village." Torune rebutted. Shino's eyes widened, catching his brother in his lie.

Kanoko crossed her arms, "No one here believes that. At least, not anymore." Torune opened his mouth, moving forward aggressively, but was interrupted by a shocked Shino, "O-oni-san… Why? What did Danzo say to you…?"

Torune's eyes widened, "Shino! How did you?!"

"We destroyed the seal, duh!" Naruto answered, with a grunt and his arms crossed.

Torune jerked his head to Naruto before back to Shino, "…Impossible. Shino… You can't go back. Danzo will kill you!" Shino nodded, "Hai, but my friends will protect me. How do I know this? Because I trust them. It is why I ask you to stop your attack. Please trust me as I trust my friends."

Torune was silent, processing all the information.

Sensing his struggle, Kanoko spoke clearly again, "I understand what you are going through, Torune-san." Torune turned to Kanoko and was about to disagree with her statement when she continued, "I once returned home to find Shimura Danzo playing shogi with my brother – alone."

Torune paused, listening as Kanoko continued, "I didn't understand for a moment what I was witnessing, but then my father returned home. That's when I realized two things: One, Danzo was looking for a way to hurt my father and two, he would use Shikamaru to do it."

Naruto's eyes widened, not realizing one of his friends was at jeopardy. Naruto gritted his teeth and his fists turned white, " _I don't know who this Danzo person is, but he going to regret coming after my friends!_ "

Kanoko smiley slightly at Naruto, noting to herself to talk to Naruto later. He wasn't ready to go up against someone like Danzo – especially with Naruto's… circumstance. Turning back to Torune, Kanoko spoke, "Looking back, after all that has happened, I should have done more…"

Kanoko got a lost look for a moment, thinking about spilled milk, before her eyes focused again, "But allow me to give you some advice Torune. Against a man like Danzo, segregating yourself and following his whims plays right into his hands."

Torune shifted slightly, "…You may have had a run in with Danzo, but you have no concept of his reach. It is not just death I worry may be in my brother's, my adopted father's, and my clan's future. Danzo is also a policy maker, an elder, a councilman – he has ties with countries the Leaf isn't even on good terms with. This is how dangerous he is and I am not willing to place the people I care about in danger on the word of genin – no matter their unusualness."

"Then what about the word of a Hokage?"

Everyone's head jerked over to the tall standing blonde kunoichi. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying you would become the Hokage? After all I told you, you said you wouldn't – and that nothing would change your mind." Jiraiya rambled out.

"Hey! Pervy-sage! Shut. UP!" Naruto grunted to his sensei. Jiraiya sighed, "I'm just asking a question…"

Tsunade ignored them and spoke to Torune, "The old fool is right. I told him, that blonde haired brat, the demon child behind you, and even your brother was a witness – I told them all I didn't believe in the position of Hokage. Everyone of them died and for what? It's a fool's job."

Shizune, Jiraiya, and Naruto sweat-dropped at Tsunade's bluntness, but she continued, "And then I bet that blonde kid that he couldn't master the Fourth Hokage's jutsu in a week."

Tsunade chuckled with her eyes closed and hands on her hips, "And to my shock, he did it in just under a week – and beat you with it in the heat of battle."

Torune was shocked, " _That kid! In a week! Less than a week?!_ " Tsunade barked a laugh at his expression, "Now you know how I feel!"

Turning serious, Tsunade spoke again, "I still see it as a fool's job, but…" Her eyes moved to Naruto, "…Someone has to protect the village my grandfather created, the same village my little brother loved and gave his life for. The same village I fought for and still love as well."

Tsunade smirked, "And someone has to get it ready for that idiot to take over as Hokage one day – talk about baby proofing a village. I got my work cut out for me!" Tsunade finished with a loud laugh.

Torune paused at Tsunade's words, " _How can I trust her words to be true? How does someone just **decide** to become Hokage?!_ "

"Why would she lie?" Kanoko spoke, to answer the question she was sure he was asking himself, "What would she gain? ...I agree with you. She's clearly lost her mind - and likely a long time ago. One second you couldn't pay her…" Kanoko trailed off, getting quiet. Kanoko stilled before jerking her head to Tsunade, "You got to be kidding me! It just occurred to you that the village would pay off your debts, **didn't it**?!"

Tsunade stuck a finger in her ear to remove some wax, "Sorry, did you say something?"

Everyone swear-dropped at her statement – now understanding her ulterior motive. Tsunade shrugged, "Hey, I still meant what I said – Some things are a woman's own business, ok?!"

Kanoko face-palmed, " _If I could go back in time and destroy Hashirama's ability to breed…_ "

Torune turned his head around at each person present before settling his eyes on Shino. Shino stepped forward, "I know. They're a weird bunch… But you told me to find some friends…"

Torune stared bewildered at Shino before breaking out into a loud bellowing laugh. Everyone stared at him, like he had lost him mind.

"Hahaha! You're right. I did." Torune smiled softly at his little brother, "And I am happy with the ones you have chosen-"

"They could be your friends too." Shino interrupted him. Torune's eyes widened, "Shino… You know-"

"Oh shut up! You think you're the only one with issues?! Like you have a curse no one can understand, well let me tell you, you're not the only one!" Naruto shouted angrily, "Stop playing the victim and start taking a chance! You never know how your life will change, but if you don't try, it will always be bad!"

Torune turned to Naruto and stared into his firm blue eyes. Torune softened his look. He knew what Naruto was and how he grew up – many of them did. In many ways, he and Naruto were alike. Torune looked inside himself for answers.

Turning back to Shino, he spoke softly, "I just don't want to see you hurt." Shino nodded, "And I you. So trust that I am looking out for you as much as you are looking out for me. Give my friends a chance."

The older Aburame sighed before looking at Shino sadly, "….I want to Otouto. I want to so badly…"

"Then do it! What's stopping you?!" Naruto shouted, getting annoyed.

Torune brought his hand up, "I can't risk everything. You are right Naruto. I am a coward."

Shino opened his mouth to beg his brother again, but was picked up by a Torune clone and raced out of the area,

"Jar of Poison Technique!"

Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune jumped back while Kanoko's and Naruto's eyes were fixated to the glowing ground around them.

"NARUTO! KANOKO! GET OUT OF THERE!" Jiraiya yelled, swinging his hair around the grab the two of them. Naruto blinked before grabbing on and following Jiraiya into the air.

"You cannot escape it. You may avoid the blast, but not the gas." Torune told them remorseful.

Kanoko's eyes were fixed on the ground beneath them, "And y _ou may be able to survive the gas, but not the explosion!_ " Kanoko thought, moving her feet and racing out towards Torune.

"I am truly sorry…" He finished in a broken voice as the ground exploded and the purple parasite gas escaped – bleeding into the air and quickly surrounding them.

Jiraiya's heart stopped, recognizing this mist from earlier.

Everything went slow.

Jiraiya's side bangs floating into his view as he moved his head to see Tsunade reach out to protect Shizune – her face showing true panic. All of them knew getting hit on all sides would mean certain death.

Death.

Jiraiya moved his face to Naruto's wide, blue eyed form, " _Minato… I… I'm so sorry!_ " Tears started gathering at the ends Jiraiya's eyes, " _Stop it Jiraiya! You need to think! Think of something! You are the great toad sage! You should know something, a jutsu, a seal, something to save them – to save Naruto!_ "

Jiraiya's vision went blurry before his hissed in pain. His eyes shifted to his shoulder – who just threw a kunai into his shoulder?! " _What is that…?!_ " Jiraiya's eyes widened and his pupils turned into pinpoints as he watched Kanoko appear in front of Naruto only to disappear with him – just barely missing the gas headed at them.

Jiraiya's eyes moved to Tsunade who was trying to pull a kunai out of her back. He paniced as he watch the gas enclose around Tsunade.

Before it hit, Kanoko appeared, and disappearing with Tsunade – and reappearing to grab Shizune not long after.

" _That jutsu…!_ " Jiraiya was interrupted when brown red eyes met his. He stared at them. He never took the time to really look at Kanoko. He was always suspicious of her and wasn't interested in dealing with her outside of what Naruto forced him into.

Seeing her now.

Those eyes.

" _I bet you guys think you have it rough – having the Third Hokage as your sensei. Well guess what? I had the Second Hokage as my sensei and let me tell you, you guess have it easy! Haha! But really… Sensei… He had these red eyes that tore into your soul and told no lies. Many people compared him to an Uchiha in that respect, but never to his face – of course."_

Jiraiya thought about his sensei's words, now staring a eyes just like his sensei described.

Jiraiya watched as the purple fog was an inch away from his face before he felt the tell-tell signs of the Flying Thunder god Jutsu: The jerking in the stomach, the head pain of moving too fast, the change in scenery in an instant.

Jiraiya fell hard to the ground as he was dropped just a foot or so away from Naruto, Tsunade and Shizune – all of which were holding their stomachs from the experience.

Jiraiya quickly straightened and moved over to Naruto, pulling him up and checking his body for an insects. Not seeing any, he moved his head to Tsunade and yelled, "Tsunade! Are you and Shizune free of the parasites?!"

There was a moment of silence where Jiraiya felt his heart drop, " _No. Not Tsunade too! No!_ " He heard a cough and a, "No… We're clean."

Jiraiya exhaled in relief.

Until he heard the sound of a body drop.

"KANOKO!" Naruto shouted, moving towards her – who was face down on the ground.

"NARUTO! GET AWAY!" Jiraiya shouted grabbing onto Naruto and holding him tightly. Naruto wailed as he thrashed around, "KANOKO NEEDS HELP!"

Tsunade picked up herself and moved over to Kanoko, bending beside her. Tsunade's eyes shifted around her, "She's…."

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"She's clean."

Everyone let out a breath of air.

Tsunade turned her over and froze.

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.

All over her front was blood.

In the center of her stomach was a short blade, with blood flowing fast and freely around it.

"TSUNADE! DO SOMETHING!" Jiraiya yelled at her as Shizune ran over and cover the wound with her hands to stop the bleeding. She focused her chakra into her hands to start healing, but the wound was a fatal one.

Only a miracle could save her now.

Jiraiya stared at the sword, " _Where… Where did that come from?!_ "

Coughing was heard behind them. Turning around, they saw Torune, trying to regain his footing while he empty his stomach. Jiraiya's eyes widened, " _She… She saved him…!_ "

Jiraiya's eyes turned dark as he stomped over and pick up Torune by the collar, "SHE SAVES YOU AND YOU REPAY HER BY KILLING HER?!" Jiraiya pulled his fist back to punch Torune right in the face, sending him into the ground hard enough to make a dent in the ground.

"GAW!" Torune cried out at the force, "I… Was… Aiming for you!"

Jiraiya looked at him strangely, "What? Why?! You already had me with the gas!" Torune coughed, "I thought… You would know the Fourth Hokage's… Jutsu… I threw it at you as a precaution… I never thought…" He didn't finish as he started coughing up blood.

Jiraiya stared at him, "I never thought either…" Jiraiya mumbled out, looking back over at Kanoko. Naruto was next to her, screaming at her to open her eyes while tears streamed done Shizune's face. She was trying her hardest to heal Kanoko – to use all the training given to her by the best medic to ever live.

Jiraiya stumbled over to stand above the scene, " _I had heard… I thought they were just rumors… A genin with his jutsu…_ "

"Lady Tsunade! Please! I need your help!" Shizune begged her teacher.

That got Naruto's attention, "What are you doing?! Kanoko needs your help!"

Tsunade's eyes were firm on the blood on her hands. She didn't see Kanoko in front of her.

She saw Dan.

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.

Crouching down next to Tsunade, Jiraiya placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder. Speaking softly, Jiraiya told her, "I know you are seeing him – seeing Dan right now, but Tsunade listen to me. Dan's dead. Nawaki is dead. Sensei's dead." Tsunade started shaking, Jiraiya continued, "But if you don't heal Kanoko, she'll die. If she dies, you'll put her brother, parents, friends… Naruto, you'll put all of them to same pain you are in."

Tsunade stopped shaking, but did not move. Jiraiya sighed, "Please Tsunade. If you are truly going to become the Hokage, is this really how you want to start it: Unable to save one small girl?"

Tsunade lowered her hands and was silent, but still did not move.

Naruto growled lowly before turning to Tsunade and yelling in anger, "YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET HER DIE?! AFTER SHE SAVED YOU?!"

Tsunade finally spoke, "I…. I…. There's just too much blood….."

"THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS! YOU SAID YOU CARE ABOUT THE VILLAGE – THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO YOUR BROTHER AND BOYFRIEND, BUT YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A COWARD! JUST LIKE SHINO'S BROTHER, JUST LIKE THIS DANZO GUY, JUST LIKE THAT OROCHIMARU GUY! YOU'LL ALL COWARDS FOR TAKING THE EASY WAY OUT AND ONLY LOOKING OUT FOR YOURSELF!"

Tsunade stared at Naruto as tears streamed down his face – none of it taking away from the disappointment and anger he felt, and all of it directed at Tsunade.

" _He's right… I am a coward… Running away from my problems… Whether it be my past, the loss of those important to me, or my debts… Always running… Leaving others to carry my burden…_ " Tsunade thought, starting widely at Naruto.

Swiftly she turned to Kanoko and pushed her hands down into the blood soaked top, "Shizune! Work on clotting while I repair the internal damage!"

Shizune stared wide eyed before smiling wide and nodding, "Hai!"

Jiraiya turned away from Kanoko as he watched Shino make his way over – from who knows where. Shino quickly made his way to Kanoko's fallen body and gulped at the blood. Turning to Jiraiya, Jiraiya nodded and smiled at him. Shino visibly calmed down before Jiraiya gestured to behind him.

Shino looked over and saw Torune working his way to his feet, "…Oni-san…"

Torune kept his head down and away from Shino.

Shino got closer, "Oni-san. Please, don't shut me out…"

"What can I say Shino… I'm… I'm so sorry!" Torune stumbled out, completely ashmased at himself, "I tried to kill your friends… And I may have killed one…"

Tsunade huffed, pulling her hands from Kanoko, "You almost did… But Kanoko's going to live – though she will be miserable for a while."

Naruto barked out a broken laugh, "Too late! She's been miserable since birth! Just ask Shikamaru!"

Shino smirked, "She is likely the root cause for Shikamaru's favorite word, "Troublesome"."

Torune felt even guiltier… He almost took this away from his brother…

Jiraiya opened his mouth to address Torune again, but Tsunade beat him to it, "This doesn't mean all is forgiven though. Order or not, you attacked and tried to kill five Leaf shinobi."

Torune hung his head, knowing the fight was over and was ready to accept any punishment.

Naruto looked over to Shino, who was solem – not sure what to do or what to say. His gaze then turned to Torune, who looked ready to die. Finally, his eyes travelled back to Kanoko…

Closing his eyes he took a moment to think through all that happened. Deciding on a thought, he looked up at Tsunade, ready to ask her to forgive Shino's brother when she smirked at him – confusing him. Turning back the Torune, she crossed her arms with a smirk, "And as punishment, you will serve as my personal assistant – in charge of **all** paperwork for the remained of my term as Hokage!"

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.

.

Torune and Shino blinked. Torune sputtered, "What?! But… After all I did?! How can you?!"

Tsunade shrugged, "Are you going to complain? Because if so, I can throw you in jail too, or kill you here. Up to you." Tsunade told him without a care.

Torune opened his mouth, when Shino knocked him over with a kick, "My brother humbling accepts your offer to be the honorable paper pusher."

"But Shino!" Torune started.

"I swear… Only the ninjas… In the Leaf… Are this whiny and dumb…" Everyone looked over to a groaning Kanoko.

"KANOKO!" Naruto yelled, moving in for a hug.

"No! Naruto!" Shizune said, stopping Naruto with her hands.

Kanoko glared at him, "Touch me and be castrated."

Naruto tilted his head, "What does "castrated" mean?"

Jiraiya coughed before whispering in Naruto's ear. Naruto's eyes went wide before backing up far away from Kanoko. Everyone laughed at the scene.

Standing, Torune turned to Tsunade, "I will be forever in your debt for the mercy you have shown me today, Hokage-sama." Torune finished with a bow.

Tsunade barked out a laugh, "I'm not Hokage yet and honestly, I would thank the kids. They're the ones that save you – and the rest of us."

Torune nodded with a smile and turned to the twelve year olds, "Otouto, Kanoko, Naruto… Thank you… You all are truly the future of the Leaf – a future I can't wait to see."

Naruto smiled wide with his eyes closed, "Believe it!"

Shino smiled slightly, nodding to his brother.

Kanoko just grunted.

Torune shook his head in humor before looking up at the sky above, " _I have no idea what the future holds, but I'm confident it will turn out well if these people are leading the charge._ "

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 _ **Special Episode:**_

The room was silent and dim as the sun lit only a small section of the room as it rose into the sky.

"YAAAAWN" Shikamaru yawned, roughly swinging up into a hunched over, sitting position in his bed. He smacked his lips a few times before a loud ringing rang through the room – coming from his digital clock.

" _What's the point of setting an alarm if you're going to wake up before it… And now I don't want to move, but it'll just keep ringing and ringing… Such a drag…_ " Shikamaru thought, glaring at a spot in the wall in front of him.

"Shut off the alarm…" Kanoko mumbled. She had returned for her mission not long ago and was enjoying the resting time to heal her wounds. Shikamaru sought her out as soon as she reached the gate of the village – no longer freaked out by her near death experiences, but still wanting to make sure she is not coming back in a body bag.

Shikamaru turned his head to Kanoko, "…I don't want to move."

Kanoko scoffed, "Tough shit." She said before kicking him off the bed roughly.

"Gah!" Shikamaru called out, hitting the floor in a twist of sheets. He laid there, stewing at his sister before getting up and turning the alarm clock off. He looked at his sister as she curled up into the pillows and blankets. He tilted his head before turning around and walking to the door.

Once he was at the threshold, he turned around and broke out into a run, jumping up and landing **HARD** on Kanoko.

"AAAACK! F*******!" Kanoko cursed out, getting into a wrestling contest with him, "Get over here you little piece of shit…!" Shikamaru quickly bolted from the bed, but wasn't quick enough before Kanoko leaped from the bed and landed on his back – sending them both to the ground.

Shikaku walked up the stairs to his children's bedroom, " _What is all that racket so earlier in the morning…_ " Shikaku yawned as he opened the door to their room. The sight he was welcomed with was Shikamaru flat on his stomach with Kanoko on top of his back, pulling at his face.

Both looked up at the intrusion to their room.

Shikaku just raised an eyebrow, "You know… It's moments like these that I get all sorts of crap at work about you two."

Kanoko let go of Shikamaru's face and crossed her arms, "What do you mean?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

Shikamaru and his father sighed at the same time.

"Nothing." They both droned out.

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 **Author's Note: It is 2am in the morning and I started writing at 5pm. No joke, I did not even get dinner. I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this chapter – as I may be out of my mind and have missed many or major typos, but I thought I would give the night readers a special treat. I will re-read it again in the morning and update if needed.**

 **Also, just wanted to say THANK YOU for the awesome reviews again! They really are encouraging and keep fueling me – keeping my fingers moving! So thank you very much for letting me know your thoughts!**


	27. Chapter 26

"…And that's how Naruto managed to both insult and motivate Tsunade into becoming the Hokage – as only Naruto can." Kanoko finished up the story of her most recent mission.

Sakura giggled, "Only Naruto!" Sakura smiled sadly, her eyes traveling to the immobile body lying before them, "…I'm happy you're back Kanoko…"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, leaning against Sasuke's hospital bed, "Please don't tell me you spent all this time wallowing over the Uchiha."

Sakura's face puffed out, "Kanoko! Be nice!" Kanoko shrugged and looked back Sasuke, "He's going to be fine – him and sensei both." Kanoko paused to lift her arm up to Sakura, "The medics here were completely ineffective in healing my arm, and look at it now." Sakura leaned in and pulled back the bandages, "That's amazing! The scarring, it's nearly gone."

Kanoko nodded, putting the bandages back, "Tsunade told me the healing should finish up in the next day, maybe two if I put it through any serious stress."

Sakura smiled as she turned to Sasuke, her heart suddenly uplifted and hopeful. Sakura turned to Kanoko, "Where is she then?"

Kanoko waved absently, "Probably meeting with the elders and village leaders." She paused to look out the window, "But I imagine Naruto will find her soon and drag her here, kicking and screaming – him, not her, I mean."

Sakura laughed, "Yeah, good old Naruto."

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"Using the clues I've given you, determine your quickest route. Begin!" Iruka shouted enthusiastically, motioning to the chalk board behind him. The sounds of pencils meeting paper was heard until the door opened. Iruka-sensei looked over to the intruder before sighing, "Ok class. Unfortunately class will be cut short again."

The class cheered as Iruka walked out. Before leaving he told them, "But that problem is your homework." A chorus of groans was heard, following his statement.

Walking away from the academy, Konohamaru stared up at the Hokage's tower. He had seen a number of people enter and exit the tower with a variety of things and knew something was up. Running over, he was met with Kotetsu and Izumo walking down the stairs with boxes in their arms.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?! That's the Third Hokage's stuff!" Konohamaru yelled at them, fists tight.

"Well… you see… We have to make room for the next Hokage…" Kotetsu tried to explain, not entirely sure how to handle a distressed child. Izumo tried to soften his tone, "Yeah… The Fifth Hokage has been chosen. It's a huge relief to the whole village..."

Izumo did get to finish as Konohamaru growled and pushed past him, knocking Izumo back – trying to balance with the box, "My grandfather was everything to this village!" Konohamaru screamed out.

Racing up the stairs to face the Fifth Hokage, Konohamaru roughly turned the corner and ramming his face into a soft mound.

Konohamaru went pink as he snuggled his face, " _Just like my baby blanket…_ " The moment was short before he jumped back and pointed aggressively at the woman in front of him, "What are you doing here?!"

Tsunade straightened her back, "What am I doing here? What are **you** doing here, you pesky little runt!"

Konohamaru took an aggressive stance before bellowing out, "Whose a little runt! I dare you to call me that again!"

Tsunade bent slightly to give Konohamaru a cocky smirk, "Oh yeah? So you're a glutton for punishment, huh?" Her smirk widened, "You're a **pesky. Little. Runt**."

Konohamaru went red in the face, "I'M WARNING YOU, IF YOU CALL ME THAT AGAIN…!"

"Lady Tsunade!"

Both of them turned their heads to the approaching figures. One was a slim lady with brown hair, holding a pig and the other was a tall man with a tight black half-mask on his face.

"Shizune, Torune." Tsunade spoke to them.

Shizune sighed as Torune spoke, "Forgive me for the intrusion, Lady Tsunade, but the elders are waiting for you."

Tsunade shrugged with a smirk, "I guess I'll run along." Tsunade turned back to Konohamaru and flicked him on his goggles, which were situated on his forehead. He growled as he grasped his goggles, where she flicked him.

Tsunade grinned, "You watch your step… Little boy." And with that, she walked away with a smirk on her face.

"…Honestly Lady Tsunade. I wish you wouldn't pick fights. People complain to me, you know." Shizune told Tsunade as the three of them walked down the hall.

Konohamaru was frozen for a moment as he watched the three of them walk away, before calling out angrily, "DON'T CALL ME A LITTLE BOY EITHER!"

*BAM*

"Gyah!"

"Watch where you're going!" Konohamaru barked out, holding his head and sitting on the ground.

"Watch where you're standing!" Naruto shouted back, on his hands and knees, holding his own head.

Konohamaru blinked, "Naruto?"

"Konohamaru?" He responded.

"Long time, no see!" Konohamaru spoke loudly with a large grin on his face. Naruto chuckled back at him, "Yeah!" Looking up from Konohamaru, Naruto asked, "Have you seen an old lady – who doesn't actually look old, but has a nasty temper?!"

"Yeah I've seen her! Who is she?!" Konohamaru responded with a growl.

Naruto shook his head, "It's a long story and I don't have time. I need to get her to the infirmary!" Konohamaru tilted his head, "Huh?" Naruto nodded walking up and down the hall, looking for her, "She's supposed to be this amazing medical ninja, but everyone has been distracting her with "Hokage this" and "Hokage that". Has forgotten what she came here for?!"

"Hokage…?" Konohamaru whispered out.

Naruto stomped back, "Yeah, she's the Fifth Hokage! Are you deaf?!"

Konohamaru gritted his teeth before running out of the tower, "You're lying Naruto! IT'S NOT TRUE!"

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Naruto spent the next hour or so camped out at the entrance to the Hokage's tower. The guards wouldn't let him passed the doors to the Hokage, so he settled for ambushing her later.

"Ah… I hate all this. My body's sore and stiff… I just want to sit down and relax with a nice cup of tea…" Tsunade groaned out, ignoring Shizune as she spoke about the other things Tsunade needed to do.

"Not so fast **Grandma**! Before you start sucking down some tea, isn't there **something** you're forgetting about?!" Naruto barked at her from the door way.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and turned to Shizune, "What would that be?"

Naruto started stomping, "Are you KIDDING ME?! What about Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei?!"

Smirking, Tsunade wistfully spoke while walking away, "Oh yeah… I did forget about them." Naruto growled at her back and was about to yell again when he was interrupted.

"Well… If it isn't Naruto…" A lazy voice drawled out

Walking up the stairs and into view was Shikamaru and his father Shikaku.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto questioned.

Shikamaru gave him a dull look, "What are you doing here? Should you be somewhere stuffing your face?"

Naruto returned his dull look with one of his own, "What about you? Aren't you usually still sleeping this time of day?"

Stepping up to Naruto, Shikamaru drawled, "Very funny. My **Dad** asked me to come along with him, but don't ask me why…"

Naruto's eye caught the scene behind Shikamaru and asked, "Hey. Do they know each other?"

Shikamaru turned around. Shikaku bowed slightly to Tsunade, "Greetings Lady Tsunade. It's been a long time." The two exchanged words, talking about the old times, while the genin looked at them with curious eyes.

Shikamaru kept his eyes on his father and Tsunade while he asked Naruto, "Who is that lady and why is my Tou-san talking to her, like she's his boss?"

"Did you hear? She's the Fifth Hokage." Naruto told him.

"Wha?" Shikamaru said, completely taken aback. Naruto leaned in to whisper, "And she's no lady… She's actually an old woman in her 50's."

"Huh?!" Shikamaru spat out, even more shocked, looking back at Tsunade in awe.

"So long, see you soon!" Tsunade spoke as she walked passed Shikaku and down the stairs.

"Yes, my lady." Shikaku responded.

Naruto's face broke out in a grin, "See you! We're going to the infirmary!" Turning around, he spoke to Shikamaru, "I'll come find you later and show you the awesome new technique I picked up!"

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"That's really the Fifth Hokage?" Shikamaru asked when they were out of sight, still in shock.

Shikaku moved around to stand next to his son, "Watch it Shikamaru." He bent down slightly to smirk at his son, "That woman is one of the strongest ninja you will ever meet. So don't let her good looks fool you."

Shikamaru turned to his father with a raised eyebrow, "Yeah?"

Shikaku smirked again, "After all, there's a reason she's the only female among the legendary sannin."

Shikamaru turned his head away from his father and closed his eyes with a dissatisfied look, "Ok… But I mean… A woman Hokage? Not to sound prejudice or anything, but is that really such a good idea?" Shikaku gave his son a bewildered look.

Shikamaru continued with a frown on his face, "Come on. You know what they're like: You can never figure them out, you never know where you stand with them – the smallest things put you on their bad side! ….Always playing their little mind games with you, trying to get you to do what they want. They're just a big pain, basically…"

Shikaku grumbled at his son's statements before letting out a sigh. Crouching down, he placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, "Listen Shikamaru. Keep in mind, without women, you and I wouldn't even exist." Shikaku smirked at his son, "And take my word for it, they make us better people then we'd ever be without them. Unlike us, even the strongest of them isn't afraid to be gentle with the man she loves."

Shikamaru stared at his father, who had started to move away from him, " _It's funny to hear him talk like this – tied to Kaa-san's apron strings the way he is…_ "

Shikaku chuckled, "Just look at your sister. She's rough around the edges, but she risked everything to save you – fighting when she shouldn't even been able to move." Shikaku looked to the sky with a soft look on his face, "She may never say it or show it on a daily basis, but at the end of the day, she truly and deeply cares for you."

Shikamaru quickly spun around to hide his face from his father. Shikaku chuckled lowly at his son, " _I can't wait until puberty, when Shikamaru's sister complex turns into an all-out war on the male population._ "

Tempted to tease his son, Shikaku resisted. He had stuff to do and if he wasn't home in time for dinner… Shikaku sweat-dropped before calling Shikamaru to follow him and entering the Hokage's tower together.

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Kanoko walked down the path from the hospital to the Nara woods. She left Tsunade healed both Sasuke and Kakashi, choosing not to stay around for all the _emotional_ stuff.

Kanoko rubbed the back of her neck to relieve some tension when she paused in her steps. Jerking her head around, she narrowed her eyes on the empty space behind her, " _I could have sworn I felt a presence…_ " Staying still for a moment before turning back around and continuing on, Kanoko was on high alert - ready for anything.

.

The ninja waited until Kanoko was out of sight before appearing on the path again, "…A sensor too. That could prove problematic."

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The sun had started setting, so the room was dimly lit with an orange and maroon glow. The only thing heard was the clicking of tiles on a shogi board. After a few wood pieces moved about the board, the sliding door opened.

Shikaku looked up from his shogi game to see the sannin, Jiraiya. Gesturing to the other side of the shogi board, Jiraiya sat down, "Thank you for meeting me, Shikaku."

Shikaku chuckled lowly, "I wasn't about to turn down a request from a sannin, especially not after electing one as our Hokage."

Jiraiya chuckled in response. Shikaku started moving the pieces back to start and motioned Jiraiya to make the first move. Jiraiya sighed, "Playing shogi with a Nara? I must be out of my mind." Jiraiya joked as he moved a tile forward.

Shikaku smirked lightly before moving a piece of his own, "So… You wish to discuss my daughter."

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, "Hehe… Can't get anything passed you huh?" Shikaku shrugged, "You wouldn't be the first to give me the third degree over Noko-chan."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow before moving another wood tile, "She is… Very unique." Turning serious, Jiraiya went straight to the point, "Shikaku… Who is she learning Fuinjutsu from?"

Shikaku chuckled before asking in a mocking tone, "You mean you aren't teaching her?" Jiraiya sweat-dropped, "So maybe a fibbed a bit at the Chunin Exams, but… In my defense, the old man seemed to have no issue with her skill in seals."

Shikaku nodded, "The Third Hokage was an insightful man. It was a heavy loss to us all." Jiraiya nodded, looking down and pausing for a moment before leaning over to capture one of Shikaku's tiles, "You still haven't answered my question…"

"I suppose I haven't." Shikaku said with a small smile, moving another piece, "…Honestly, I have no idea. I came home one day and when I went out to feed the deer, I found her in the forest playing with ink and scroll paper."

Jiraiya eyed Shikaku suspiciously, "…You have **no** idea…" Jiraiya sighed, "Fuinjutsu isn't something you pull out of thin air and just **learn** , you have to be taught." Jiraiya peered around him before asking in a low voice, "Are you sure… Rokumaru had no part in her knowledge?"

Shikaku stilled and tensed before relaxing, "….My father…. He refuses to have any interactions with Kanoko."

Jiraiya gave Shikaku a harsh and serious look. With a firm tone, he spoke, "You will have to forgive me for not believing that Rokumaru, a clan purist, would not teach the clan's prodigy child, at the very least, his philosophy."

Shikaku opened his mouth to speak, when Jiraiya interrupted him, "And don't tell me that you have kept him from your children. You and I both know you have yet to overcome your own fear of your father."

Shikaku closed his mouth and eyes to hold his tongue. Opening his eyes slowly, he spoke, "…You are right. However, I speak the truth when I say my father would never teach his granddaughter a thing."

Jiraiya placed a hand on his chin, "…What makes you so sure?"

Shikaku looked out towards the setting sun, "There is a… Legend in the Nara Clan about something called, "The Ryuko no Okami"."

Jiraiya repeated back, "The Maned Wolf? What is that?"

Shikaku continued, ignoring Jiraiya's question, "As the legend goes, the deer lived in the luscious forest, now known as the Nara woods, for years in peace. The forest itself had a life to itself, protecting its inhabitants from the dangers of predators and natural disasters. Until one day, when a great storm hit, knocking the great trees down before catching fire. As lightening and fire raged in the forest, the deer escaped in a frenzy, losing many of their kind in the process. Once the lightening stopped and the rain poured down on the remains, the deer slowly returned to their once beautiful home. However, while the deer mourned their losses, the predators – once held back by the intimidating trees – attacked.

For years, the deer were hunted and killed as they cried for the loss of the trees, their families, and the peace they once had. After a rather brutal attack from the wolves, the deer came together prayed to the gods to send them a defender to protect them against their foes. The gods, sadden by the deer clan's predicament, granted their wish. They told the deer that in one year a doe would birth twins: One to guide the herd through the age with wisdom and kindness, and one to defend the herd against all threats with strength and courage. However, the gods warned the herd, should one of the deer be killed by one of their own, the other would unleash a darkness that would follow the clan until the end of time.

One year later, a doe gave birth to two deer – one a buck and one a doe. The deer celebrated, raising the two with comfort and riches – teaching the buck strategy, as he showed great wisdom, and the doe technique, as she showed great strength. Together, the two grew into adult deer, guiding their herd and all herds that joined further into the forest, where the plant life was growing again. They were at peace again. Predators were pushed back by the combination of intelligence and power of the twin deer, and the vegetation started to grow lusciously again. The clan no longer feared the future.

 **All, but one**. One buck was afraid and angered by the power the doe possessed. He believed the bucks superior to the does, and tried to mount her to show his dominance. She kicked him off and put him in his place. After fleeing, the buck became furious and so he started to plot. He knew he would be unable to beat the doe, given her godly strength, so instead he waited. He waited until her twin brother left the herd to meditate in solitaire. When the wise buck was alone, the buck attacked the wise one – killing him. The herd and doe quickly came upon the scene, but not before the wise one passed from this world.

Consumed with anger, grief, and betrayal, the doe unleashed a loud howl. Her fur turned red, her ears sharpened, and fangs grew out of her widening mouth. The herd stared as they watched their protector turn into a hybrid of a wolf, fox, and deer: What they would later call the Maned Wolf. Her eyes, having turned from a calming deep black to a raging hot red, shifting around the area, counting up the deer. With another wicked howl, the Maned Wolf leaped out and ripped the deer to shreds – blood staining the grass and trees surrounding them.

For years, the Maned Wolf hunted those deer that were once her own, killing all other animals as she stalked through the lands with her long, deer-like legs. Wolves, cats, birds, bears, nothing could defeat the Maned Wolf as blood red tears forever fell from her eyes – seeking vengeance on the world.

The remaining deer prayed to the gods again, this time to undue the curse they placed on them. The gods denied them, stating they had warned the deer and this was the consequence. The deer shouted the Maned Wolf would not stop at their deaths, but would kill all of the gods' creatures until there were none left. The gods debated this argument among themselves for some time before returning to the deer and making them an offer: The gods would stop the Maned Wolf, but the deer clan would lose their animal forms, and they and their children would forever be shrouded in darkness. The deer quickly agreed, fearing the Maned Wolf's wrath. The gods were not done, however. The told the deer they would be tested again. Years from now, a member of the clan would birth twins: One possessing great wisdom and one possessing great power. Should either be killed due to the actions of any clan member, the Maned Wolf will appear again – and this time, no one will be able to stop it."

Jiraiya stared at Shikaku in awe before shaking his head, "Ok, that's a great story, but what does it have to do with your father?"

Shikaku sighed, "I imagine you can already guess that the clan believes Shikamaru and Kanoko to be the twin in the legend – including my father."

Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah, I got that. What I don't get is why you're so sure that he's not teaching Kanoko. After hearing the legend, I am even more convinced that he would want to be involved in her upbringing, if she is destined to become this incredible force."

Shikaku nodded, "…I had thought so as well. The moment we were told we would have twins, my father was immediately consumed with the thought of them. He never cared for Yoshino, but suddenly, anything she asked for, he made possible…" Shikaku sighed heavily again, "Yoshino had just finished giving birth, and had Noko-chan in her arms while I had Shikamaru in mine, when my father reached out to pick up his granddaughter from Yoshino…. Just as he touched Kanoko, Shikamaru screamed – no, he **howled**."

Jiraiya dropped his shogi tile, it falling off the board, "Back up. So now you're telling me that _**Shikamaru**_ , your lazy and apathetic son, is the Maned Wolf reincarnate?"

Shikaku shook his head, "I don't know myself. It never happened again. My father was so shock, so _terrified_ , he left the room in a rush and never visited us again."

Jiraiya rubbed his face, "This freaking village and its stupid myths and legends and ridiculous clan ideologies…" Jiraiya started mumbling, cursing the fact that he can never keep up with all the madness.

Shikaku beaked out a laugh, "You're going to curse us when you believe in the Child of Prophecy or whatever it's called."

Jiraiya sighed, "I'm just saying there's too much to keep up with…" Shaking his head, he turned back to Shikaku, "That still doesn't explain how Kanoko can use fuinjutsu like the Flying Thunder god Jutsu."

Shikaku rubbed his temples, "You heard about that then…" Jiraiya interrupted him, "Yes, though I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself."

Shikaku's eyes widened before he cursed lowly, "I tell her to be careful and what does she do? Uses it in front of the sannin…" Shikaku sighed, "Look, I won't tell you what I told everyone else because you'll know it to be a lie. The truth is I have no idea."

Jiraiya leaned on his knees and with a serious tone, he spoke, "You know this means either one of three things: One, she is a real genius beyond compare; Two, she found the Second Hokage's notes – which are under lock and key in the Hokage's tower; Or three, she is not who she appears to be."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean by that?"

Jiraiya crossed his arms, "Orochimaru can place his soul into another's body and take it over. It is possible the same is so here."

Shikaku growled slightly, "That doesn't even make sense. If Orochimaru took over my daughter's body, that still doesn't explain the Fourth's jutsu. We would know if he knew it – he would flaunt it."

"I wasn't talking about Orochimaru's soul in Kanoko's body." Jiraiya replied.

Straightening, Shikaku asked, "…Then who?"

Jiraiya paused, a hand on his chin in thought, "…I don't know. I had first guessed perhaps Minato had done so – as his death was unique, but Kanoko only begrudgingly helps Naruto out, out of comradery and friendship."

"And who would be the next option? The Second Hokage?" Shikaku asked in a mocking tone, naming the only other person able to perform the Flying Thunder god Jutsu.

Jiraiya waved at him, "Don't be ridiculous. He's been dead for ages. If he had the ability, he would have been revived during my time. Not to mention the fact that he was reanimated at the Chunin Exams." Sighing, Jiraiya paused before continuing, "It was just a thought concerning Minato – one I have already ruled out. I still don't understand how your daughter knows so much, but after hearing your story about the Maned Wolf… Well, if it's true, then perhaps it's divine intervention that she is as strange as she is."

Shikaku chuckled lowly, "Hey, that's my girl you're talking poorly about."

Jiraiya put his hands up in a sign of peace, "Just pointing out the facts." Jiraiya chuckled as he stood, "Well I better be off. Have lots of things to do before heading out again." He finished, walking out.

Shikaku watched the door slide close before moving one last piece and smirking, "Checkmate."

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"To be honest, I don't know what to do. With the final exam being suspended, it was the opinion of many that none of the students should pass the time around – and that includes you. However, I heard that the Third Hokage had nothing, but praise for your match."

Tsunade pulled a brush from her desk and started writing characters down, " It seems you were to be recommended for chunin. In fact, all those that observed your fight and the proctors felt the same. So in this case, my opinion doesn't really matter. From this day forth, I hope you will strive to achieve a level of excellence worthy of that headband."

Tsunade clasped her hands with a smile before motioning to the genin in front of her, "Congratulation! As of this moment, you stand a chunin!"

Kanoko bowed before giving her brother a side look to communicate, " _I swear on my first mother's grave. You say, "what a bother" "such a drag" or, so help me if you say "troublesome", I will burry you alive in the Nara clan forest!_ "

Shikamaru sweat-dropped at his sister's dark look before bowing and quietly muttering a, "thank you".

Tsunade dismissed the room before calling out, "Kanoko. Please stay."

Kanoko turned around and stood straight in front of the Fifth Hokage. Once the door closed, Tsunade leaned back in her chair and peered at Kanoko with her hands together. The two of them were quiet for a while before Tsunade broke the silence, "Your father may have spun some grand story – appealing to Jiraiya's weak spot for legends and prophecies, but I won't be so easily fooled."

Kanoko stood still, not changing her expression as she stared ahead. Tsunade hummed before speaking again, "But I would be a fool to expel such an asset to the village." Swing the chair around, Tsunade stood and walked in front of Kanoko, bending down to look her in the eyes.

"Should your commitment to the village ever waver or should your actions ever place the leaf in danger, consider your days numbered." The Fifth Hokage spoke coldly in a dark voice.

Kanoko nodded with her hands at her sides, but gave no response.

Standing up straight again, Tsunade smirked, "Good."

Kanoko paused, waiting for more, before she turned around to exit. Before she left, Tsunade spoke one last time, "Don't let me down, Kanoko."

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"YAHOOO!"

Kanoko glared at her sensei as he grinned evilly at her. Her team and her brother's team were sitting at a table, inside Team Asuma's favorite barbeque restaurant. Kanoko was currently pouting as she listened to the cheers of Naruto and Ino, the loud chewing of Choji, the yelling from Sakura – who was trying to convince Ino that Kanoko would be a better chunin than Shikamaru. And last, both senseis were chuckling and laughing at the embarrassed Nara siblings.

Kanoko scoffed, " _At least Shikamaru can leave whenever he wants, I'm squeezed in between the wall and Kakashi's fat ass._ " Giving her sensei another dark look, " _I guess I should be grateful that I have an excuse not to go home right away…_ "

Someone had spilled the beans and told her father about her using the Flying Thunder god Jutsu. Kanoko growled to herself. She could still here the loud laughter of her brother the night before, as Kanoko took one look at her father's dark face and bolted right back out the door. It was an odd day at the Nara residence when Shikaku was the one stomping around the house, silently stewing while Yoshino snuck food and blankets to Kanoko with a smirk.

And if that wasn't all, Naruto and Sasuke started fighting again – this time going too far. Not long after Sasuke woke up, Kanoko decided to be lazy and left her teammates to fret over Sasuke. And despite what Shikamaru would lead you to believe, it was not because she was jealous of the attention they were giving him when she almost died… Again… Not. At. All. Jealous.

In any case, leaving them there proved deadly as Sasuke responded poorly to being coddled. That and his rising frustration over Naruto's progress, Sasuke snapped, leading to a battle of jutsus on the roof. Thankfully, Kanoko had been passing Hinata and Kiba when Sakura ran over to tell her. All four ran to the roof to see the two of them trying to kill each other.

Kanoko was prepared to go knock some sense into the two of them when the unthinkable happened:

Hinata roared with a battle cry that would haunt all present for some time, before charging at Sasuke, hitting him straight in the stomach with her gentle fist. Kanoko remembered Sasuke's wide eyes as he squeaked out his teammate's name before fainting.

Of course, the moment didn't last long before Hinata fell to her knees shouting apologies at the passed out Uchiha. Kanoko smirked as she remembered Naruto slowly crawling away from Hinata with a terrified look on his face, " _If she had turned even a centimeter towards him, him would have passed out from sheer terror._ "

Sakura and Kanoko now had a running gag with Naruto, telling him that if he didn't behave, they would go get Hinata. His face was priceless each time they said it.

Sasuke, after spending a lot of time with his team, seemed to go back to normal – well, normal for the Uchiha. The three of them seemed to be good for Sasuke. They didn't coddle him, but were there to help when he needed it. They were a good balance.

Shino and Torune seemed to be doing well, as well. Torune was taking the role as paper pusher seriously. Tsunade had forgotten what sleep meant as Shizune and Torune tackled her with signatures, important meetings, new information traveling around, and requests from villagers. Kanoko chuckled to herself, " _Maybe I should find a way to tell her that she can delegate her authority to others and go about her own life without worry._ " Kanoko smirked, " _No... My grandniece could learn a lesson in humility first._ "

Shino was promoted, or demoted – depending how you look at it, to special jounin. This position was something the Hokage could assign without jumping through any bureaucratic hoops and was the quickest way to pull both Torune and Shino from Danzo's grasp. Shino was then assigned under a man called, Yamato, for tutelage. Shino was at first sad that his sensei would no longer be his brother, but Torune seemed to have found his calling in running around the Hokage's tower as her assistant, so Shino quickly go over his feelings. Now he was having fun meeting with Naruto, and the rest of the boys of the Rookie 9, about new ways to prank his sensei – even Kakashi-sensei joined in once, but Kanoko suspected there was more to that story then he was telling.

The only people Kanoko hadn't heard very much from was Team Gai. Kanoko suspected that was because Kakashi was only recently released from the hospital and Gai was waiting for him to get back to 100% before challenging him to a duel.

Kanoko did find it odd that Lee had not sought out Sakura for another love confession…

"SAKURA-CHAN! IT MUST BE FATE AND THE POWER OF YOUTH THAT WE WOULD BOTH BE PULLED TO THIS RESTAURANT TO DINE UNTIL NIGHT!"

" _Spoke too soon…_ " Kanoko thought, watching Lee run towards Sakura with Neji and Tenten following in after. Neji had his eyes narrowed, glaring at his teammate's back, "How many times do we have to tell you about your inside voice?!"

Tenten just sighed at her team before walking up to Ino, "I had a feeling we would see you guys here… Oh wow! Are those chunin vests?" Tenten exclaimed, her eyes catching the vest Kanoko and Shikamaru were wearing.

Kanoko nodded, "The Hokage informed us just moments ago." Neji peered at the Nara siblings before turning his head away with a huff – likely upset that Shikamaru made chunin before him.

"Oh come on Neji! You'll get there soon, the flames of youth burn brightly in you!" Gai shouted in his deep voice, placing a hand on Neji's shoulder and embarrassing him in front of everything – who laughed at his distressed face.

Kanoko relaxed as her eyes softened at the group in front of her. Even though she knew the road ahead would be tough and the enemies would only get stronger from here, this was a moment she would never forget. Moments like this, among her friends and family – as strange and new as they still seemed, she would cherish and strive to protect.

Jiraiya may watch her with curious eyes, the Hokage may keep her at arm's length, and her own father may be questioning her left and right, but this life was still perfect in so many was, and she would do anything to protect it.

Shikamaru caught Kanoko's far away look and raised an eyebrow. Still feeling happy with her life, Kanoko smiled kindly back at him, her eyes softening. Shikamaru jumped slightly and turned away quickly.

"Hey Shikamaru! What's got you blushing so hard?" Choji asked loudly – worried like the good friend he is. Shikamaru just turned redder before trying to hide his face with his hand, giving them all a dull and bored look – trying to brush it off.

Everyone laughed at him anyways.

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Gathered on the roof of the Hokage's tower were chunin and jounin – all on one knee in front of the Fifth Hokage. Kanoko was currently near the back with her brother on her right. Behind Lady Tsunade stood their father with his typical calm expression.

"We lost a few shinobi during the invasion of Suna, as well as our esteemed leader, the Third Hokage. Even so, the Village Hidden in the Leaves refused to so weakness and all of you together, and those still on missions, pitched in to help – for this, you have my gratitude, as does your village." Tsunade spoke loudly to the group before her, her arms crossed underneath her chest.

The Fifth Hokage paused to take a deep breath, "The Village Hidden in the Waterfall claims to be conducting a training exercise at the edge of their lands."

Kanoko looked to her brother, who looked back at her, " _A possible invasion?_ "

Tsunade nodded to the group, "I imagine you must be thinking the same as I, a possible invasion. However, they have given this information freely. Whether that is a ruse or not, I won't allow the village to suffer for our inaction. For now, you will be split into groups. Some of you will be required to guard the border of the fire nation while the rest of you will remain here, as our last line of defense."

Sighing out, Tsunade closed her eyes before opening them again, "This, on top of our other missions will leave us at bare minimums. I, and your village, are counting on you to make this a success. Every ninja above genin will be assigned a task, so line up to speak with those behind me for your orders."

"Your village is counting on you. Dismissed!" Tsunade bellowed, walking back towards Shikaku for further planning.

Kanoko and Shikamaru stood, "Things are starting to get serious… How troublesome…" Kanoko gave her brother a nasty look, "Let's just go get our orders before you say something that rubs one of the jounin the wrong way and I have to bail you out. Again."

Shikamaru gave his sister a dull look as he dragged his feet forward to the line. Once they had their scrolls they opened them up. Shikamaru sighed, "I'm to remain in the village as a last line of defense."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Well aren't you lucky. I'm on outer village patrol duty." Shikamaru smirked, walking away with his hands in his pocket, "Sucks to be you."

Kanoko glared at his back before heading out to find her genin team. They would need to know.

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"WHAT?!"

"Naruto! You're as bad as Lee!" Sakura told Naruto, holding her hands over her ears. They were currently hanging out on their favorite spot: On the red bridge over the river.

Naruto looked back as Sakura with a depressed look, "But it's not fair… Kanoko gets this super awesome mission and we get stuck here!"

Kanoko gave Naruto a dull look, "It's not exactly exciting work. I will be running in circles around the village – much like Lee and Gai do every day."

Naruto shook his head, "Yeah, but what if some ninja decides to attack, or… or what if a whole **village** decides to attack?! You would be the first line of defense and get all the fame and glory!"

Sakura sighed, "That's exactly what we **don't** want to happen, so stop wishing for it! Kanoko may be strong, but she'll die against a whole village! Is that what you want?!" Sakura barked at Naruto, pointing a finger in his face.

Naruto pouted, "No…"

"Then it's settled. Kakashi-sensei has also been given a mission – though I don't know the details, so it will just be the two of you for some time." Kanoko paused to think, "All the teams will be without their sensei, so maybe you all can get together and train?"

That seemed to appease Naruto, who started to think about it before jumping in the air and running away quickly. Sakura and Kanoko both sweat-dropped as they heard Naruto's voice, in the distance, yell, "I'm coming for you teme!"

Turning back to Kanoko, Sakura spoke, "I do hope everything goes well during patrol duty…" Sakura looked down, her fears getting the best of her. Kanoko tilted her head slightly before fishing out something from her bag. Holding in her fist, she motioned Sakura to hold out her hand.

Looking at her in confusion, Sakura did just that. Kanoko dropped a necklace into her hand, "The next time you see Naruto, can you make sure this gets around his neck? It's the First Hokage's necklace."

"Whaaat?!" Sakura exclaimed, looking down at it in awe, "How did you get it?!"

Kanoko shrugged, "Won it in a bet. It's a long story. In any case, it now belongs to Naruto, so can you make sure it gets to him – and on him, not in his pocket or something."

Sakura nodded, still in a bit of awe, "No problem…"

Kanoko smirked slightly, "Oh, that reminds me." Sakura looked back up at Kanoko, "Remember how we were trying to come up with a battle style for you?" Sakura nodded. Kanoko smirked, "Let's just say, due to recent events, I got some inspiration for an idea. I will warn you though, the path won't be easy – in fact, it will be deadly. Are you ready for such a challenge?"

Sakura stared at Kanoko before narrowing her eyes and arguing with herself. Finally, she looked up at Kanoko with determined eyes, "I'm tired of being the weak one on the team, the support that can't defend herself. If I don't do something, you and Naruto are going to leave me in the dust – and I don't want that! I want to protect my village, my family, …and the people I care about." Raising her fist in the air, Sakura grinned, "Whatever you got, I can take it! CHA!"

Kanoko chuckled lowly, "A simple, "Yes" would have been fine, but since you're so motivated…"

Sakura tilted her head at Kanoko's evil grin.

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Torune stepped before the Fifth Hokage, "You will need to sign here, here, and here. Oh and here, but not here… You should really read that part… And here as well, but don't–"

"MAKE IT STOPPPPP!" Tsunade yelled, standing up from her desk and slamming her hands down, "Sign this, read this, meet with this old geezer, review this request… I'VE HAD ENOUGH! THE LEAF VILLAGE CAN FIGURE OUT THEIR OWN SHIT!"

Shizune quickly ran over and pulled on Tsunade's robes to keep her in the room, "Lady Tsunade! You already gave an oath! You must stay and work!"

"To hell I do! Especially not without some high quality sake!" Tsunade roared back, trying to get Shizune off without ripping her clothes.

Torune came over to appease the Hokage, "If we find you some, will you go back to your desk?" Shizune shot Torune a dirty look, "What are you doing, Torune?!" Torune gave her a pleading look, "Trying to keep our Hokage from defecting?"

Tsunade pushed them back, "No! Find me a way to get more than two hours of sleep, some relaxing tea mixed with something strong, and a nice hot bath, and we'll talk about if the Leaf village still has a Hokage by the end of the day!"

Shizune and Torune looked at each other and opened their mouths to speak when a poof was heard behind Tsunade.

Turning around, Tsunade raised an eyebrow at a confused and shocked pink haired girl. She froze when she looked up to see the Hokage. Tsunade gave her an unimpressed look, "I don't know how you got in here without my guards knowledge – WHO WILL PAY DEARLY LATER – but I suggest you start speaking, girly."

Sakura shook with her eyes wide before extending her hand out, a piece of paper in it. Tsunade reached out to grab it as Shizune and Torune yelled at her to stop – thinking it could be a bomb or something. She ignored them and read it out loud, "By now you must be going insane and pleading to the gods for a nap, warm bath, and/or some hard alcohol to ease that growing headache of yours. I am willing to offer you information to make your life easier – the only condition is that you agree to train the pink haired genin in front of you. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Tsunade screamed, punching the desk behind her and breaking it in half.

"No! The papers!" Torune cried out. He just spent an hour organizing all those piles.

Sakura shook her head, "That's all I know promise!" Tsunade eyed her suspiciously, "So… If this isn't your doing, whose is it?"

Sakura looked to the side, " _Kanoko didn't tell me if I could tell Tsunade the truth…_ " Tsunade noticed the hesitation, "Let's rephrase this question. Who are your teammates and sensei?"

"K-Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and Kanoko." Sakura stuttered out. Tsunade groaned lowly, " _Great. My three favorite people…_ " Sighing, Tsunade thought about the trade. Honestly, she would likely train the kunoichi in any case if she showed the will and potential for medical ninjutsu – Konoha need more medics, but Tsunade was a very busy person, who could barely balance her own life.

Tsunade looked down at the paper, " _But if they have an answer to my woes…_ " The Fifth Hokage leaned back on her desk with her arms crossed, "Tell me… What was your name?"

"Haruno Sakura, my lady."

"Tell me Sakura, do you truly want to learn the ways of medical ninjutsu or is this something you are being forced into? I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not an easy sensei, in fact, some may call me cruel. I will likely be in a sour mood most of the time, due to my position in the village. Knowing this, what is your answer?"

Sakura looked unsure for a moment before her eyes turned serious again as she stood confidently, "It's my dream to protect my village and the people I care about. I want to become a strong ninja like my teammates and sensei. I was warned you would be tough, but I am willing to work past my limits to become a ninja – become a kunoichi this village can be proud to call one of its own!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Impressive speech – though a bit bland compared to your teammates." Tsunade watched Sakura's fist tighten at the accusation, "And what about healing ninjutsu? It requires fine chakra control."

Sakura nodded, "I understand... Actually, one of my teammates showed me a technique that I can now preform accurately: The Mystical Palm Technique."

Tsunade's eyebrows rose, "I'm going to assume you are referring to the Nara… I know for a fact she does not know the technique, or else she would have aided in healing her own wounds."

Sakura nodded, "She told me she never actually preformed the jutsu, but stole – I mean, acquired a few books to help me learn after I told her of my interest in medical ninjutsu."

Shizune gasped, "You learned on your own? That's amazing!"

Tsunade stared at Sakura with narrowed eyes, who tried not fidget under such gaze. After a few moments, Tsunade spoke, "…Give me the information about how to lessen my work load and I will think about making you my student."

" _She's going to try to out-play you. You'll have to be strong. So long as Shizune is there, she'll hold Tsunade to any promises she makes, but you have to get the words out of her._ " Kanoko's words repeated in Sakura's head as she took a deep breath and shook her head, "Not until you make me your student."

Tsunade stilled, "Oh? You would act so pompous to your Hokage, your leader?" Tsunade spat with a cold tone.

Sakura gulped and shook slight, before nodding confidently and shouting, "Hai! I will only give you the information if you make me your student!"

Tsunade glared at Sakura long and hard.

Sakura felt herself sweating under such a heated glare, " _What have I done?! Kanoko! You're going to get me killed!_ "

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A bark of laughter came out of Tsunade, making everyone in the room relax, "Hahaha! The kids these days! Such stones!" Turning back to Sakura she smirked, "Your funeral kid, but I promise here, on my honor as the Hokage, to make you my student. Now hand it over pinky."

Sighing out in relief, Sakura slowly walked over to the desk and placed an envelope on the desk before bolting out of the room at the speed of light.

Torune and Shizune looked at the swinging doors in confusion. Turning to Shizune, he said, "That was odd…"

Tsunade scoffed before ripping the envelope and reading the contents inside.

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"NNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!" Tsunade roared, kicking one half of her broken desk out the window in rage. As she panted in anger, Tsunade quickly turned her eyes to the ninjas standing outside her door, "Find me Nara Shikaku and bring him to me **NOW**!"

Shaking slightly, Torune and Shizune snuck over to read the letter that had fallen out of their Hokage's hand.

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 _It's called, "Delegation of Authority" idiot._

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 ** _Author's Note: Thank you for the inspiring reviews once again! Please let me know what you like and what I need to work on! I will be typing as fast as I can to get out the next part, so I hope this chapter puts a smile on your face!_**

 ** _Thank you again!_**


	28. Thanksgiving Special

**Author's Note:**

 **Sorry I didn't update last weekend! I had some bad pain and my doctor quickly sent me in for tests. I'm ok, but I was out for a bit due to the pain and all the tests. The things they make you drink for scans… Ugg… Anyways! I am still working on the next chapter, but here is a Thanksgiving special!**

 **I don't know if the Japanese culture has something similar to Thanksgiving and I'm sure they don't do turkey dinners, but I wanted to write a "thankful day" of sorts, so here's to hoping it goes well!**

 **Disclaimer: This occurs in a mysterious time after Tsunade is made the Hokage, but before the time skip.**

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 **Thanksgiving Special:**

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"SHIKAKU! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"

It was early in the morning and Yoshino had already started the oven – getting it ready for the turkey. The counters and table had bags of different foods, utensils, and container for cooking and serving. Every year, the head of the Clan hosts a party to give thanks to the clan, the village, and for the peace they all share together. Friends of the clan head's family were also invited.

Unfortunately for those of the clan head's family, it was also the day Yoshino lost her shit and went on a rampage, trying to get ready for the madness that is the Nara clan.

Kanoko, for example, was currently quietly running around the house – looking for her brother to offer up to her mother on a silver platter.

Shikamaru – having been victim to this for the last three years – had gone all out this year. He started planning as soon as he was caught last year and had strategically placed traps and distraction his sister would have to go through before getting even a hint of his location.

Wiping her face from the last ink trap, Kanoko gritted her teeth before her eyes went wide as she turned the corner. Quickly, she ducked to avoid a barrage of kunai heading towards her. From the ground, she looked back at the kunai stuck in the wall and narrowed her eyes, " _Oh. It's on._ "

Kanoko poofed away.

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Shikamaru yawned quietly as he tried to get comfortable for the hundredth time. He gave the wall an annoyed look – it was hard to get comfortable when you were hiding in the deer's food storage locker. Shikamaru smirked to himself. He had placed a number of traps and clues that would lead Kanoko (and his father – who also sold him out) running around just long enough before getting caught by their mother.

Then… He would be in the clear.

Shikamaru exhaled in content as he tried to move his arms behind his head with a smirk.

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*DOOOSH*

Shikamaru fell out of the food storage locker with a dramatic crash – getting caught completely off guard. Shikamaru groaned as he blink at the sudden light and moved his head around to look up at the person who roughly opened the storage locker doors.

"Kiba…?" Shikamaru asked with a drawl before narrowing his eyes, "What the hell are you doing here…"

Kiba crossed his arms as Akamaru started to lick at Shikamaru's face – who's face scrunch up in disgust, " _ **I**_ was invited. Duh!"

"Did you find him?! Damn! I thought for sure I had him!" Naruto whined, running up behind Kiba and grinning widely at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru grumbled as he lazily pulled himself to his feet. He rubbed the back of his neck before speaking passed Kiba and Naruto with a scowl, "…That's cheating…"

Kanoko shrugged before throwing Shikamaru over her shoulder, "As promised, Shikamaru's share of the meat is yours." Kanoko spoke to Kiba, who grinned before turning to Akamaru with a thumb ups, "Here that boy! Double meat!"

Shikamaru turned his head and started to struggle sluggishly, "Hey! You can't just throw me to the wolves _**and**_ take my food!"

Kanoko just started walking towards the house with her hold on her brother firm, "Maybe next time you don't try to kill me with kunai."

Shikamaru just proper his elbow on his sisters back and leaned on his hand, " _Maybe next year I won't miss…_ "

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As usual, even after finding her brother (and father – who was always easily found at the nearest pub, having been drinking the night before to be thoroughly drunk for the next day), Kanoko still was stuck on potato peeling duty.

Kanoko rubbed her hand from the soreness as she glared at the large pile before her. She hadn't even started and the memory of the pain was already giving her a cramp… Exhaling, Kanoko got started before her gaze shifter to her father, " _At least I'm not stuck on gofer duty…_ "

Kanoko would be lying if she said she didn't chuckle at the fearful, sluggish, hung over, and confused expression of her father as Yoshino barked out a series of orders faster than a humming bird's beating wings. Every year, Shikaku would hold his head and slowly ask for her to repeat before Yoshino started waving her rolling pin (because she always started on the pies after the turkey was placed in the oven), trying to hit him – in the hope that she could beat the stupid out of him.

Chuckling lowly, Kanoko looked across from her to her hunched over brother – who was starting to doze off. Glaring, Kanoko threw a potato at him – hitting him in the face, making him fall back with a yelp. Rubbing his face, he glared back at him sister before mumbling, "…Why are _**all**_ Nara women so violent...?"

Kanoko started peeling again and raised an eyebrow, "Why are _**all**_ Nara men so infuriating?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Because we're lazy?"

Kanoko smirked, throwing another peel potato into the pot, "See? Even you agree." Her brother scowled at her and continued to peel.

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The guests started to arrive, and as the clan head's heirs, Kanoko and Shikamaru were in charge of welcoming them in and showing them to the back – trading pleasantries while doing so. Going back to Kanoko's time as the Second Hokage, schmoozing was something she knew well. Putting on her, "I am listening to you intently" face and nodding at their words – giving a few of her own for them to chew on – Kanoko dropped them off to her father for a final welcome and thanks for serving the clan.

Shikamaru, however…

Kanoko smirked in amusement as her brother turned red and mumbled as another Nara clanswoman teased him for his cuteness and likeness to his father. Shikamaru was still learning on handling large crowds of people at once. Kanoko didn't blame him for stumbling. They just started to become more involved in the clan three years ago and the Nara clan was just as tricky as their parents. Thankfully, most of them were just as lax and while the men liked to tease the kids, the women picked on their husbands/boyfriends/fiancés.

*CRASH*

Kanoko groaned.

And then there were her and Shikamaru's "friends".

"Get back here you mutt!" Naruto yelled, chasing Kiba with cider dripping down his front. Kiba laughed loudly as he raced behind tables and weaving through people. Sasuke calming walked up behind Kanoko with his hands in his pockets, "…Every day I feel sorry for us…"

Kanoko nodded with a raised eyebrow, "…I don't know how you do it… I would have neutered Kiba long before now."

Sasuke smirked, "And Naruto isn't worse?" The Uchiha gave Naruto, who had caught Kiba and were now on the ground wrestling, a blank stare, "I would have gone insane… Probably tried to kill him, betray the village, or something like that…"

Kanoko gave Sasuke a leery look, "…Well let's just be thankful things turned out differently…" Sasuke shrugged before walking out to meet up with a skittish Hinata – who was hiding behind an annoyed looking Neji.

"Kanoko! HELP!"

Sighing, Kanoko turned to her brother's pleas of help and slowly moved up to the scene. Walking up to Ino, who was giggling, Kanoko gave her a dull look, "Yukina's trying to _seduce_ Shikamaru again I see."

Sakura, standing next to Ino with a worried look, spoke, "Is that the little girl dragging Shikamaru around and introducing him as her fiancé?" Sakura's eyes were firm on a small dark haired girl pulling Shikamaru by his ear roughly around to the various clansmen.

"Fiancé? Wow. She's really stepping up her game this year." Kanoko drawled out sarcastically. Ino giggled into her hand, before turning a catty grin at her, "Aren't you going to help him? What's Shikamaru going to do, if his knight in shining armor doesn't come to his rescue? Who will save him?!"

Kanoko glared at Ino and crossed her arms. Ino giggled louder before calling out to Shikamaru, "Keep the Yamanaka shop in mind when you start planning the wedding!"

Shikamaru's eye twitched as he tried to pull away from the girl's death grip before glaring at his teammate, "I'm letting you hit the ground the next time you use your jutsu! I hope it's muddy out when it happens too!"

Sakura's eyebrows flew up, not having seen Shikamaru so animated before, "…Wow. He's really angry…"

Ino just laughed and waved her hand around at Sakura's concern, "This is just Shikamaru with no sleep, hurt pride, and at the mercy of the clan's women. Let's just say this is the worst day of the year for him."

"And your favorite day of the year – outside your birthday." Choji said, walking up from behind with a content smile. Kanoko saw a half finished plate of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes in his hand.

Ino shrugged, "As if it's not your favorite too." Choji grinned, "Oh yeah! All this food made by Auntie Yoshino! It's almost as good as kaa-san's!"

Sakura giggled at Choji's enthusiasm before turning around at the dark aura standing behind them. Turning around, Sakura yelped while Ino and Choji ran away laughing at Shikamaru's ruffled form. Kanoko watched Sakura run after Ino with a "Wait! Don't leave me!" before raising her eyebrow at her brother.

"Do you need a witness for your wedding?" Kanoko tilted her head sluggishly to look around, "I think Naruto's available…"

Shikamaru's eye twitched harder and opened his mouth to chew Kanoko out for her betrayal when the small demon of Shikamaru's nightmares ran up in front of Shikamaru, "Stay away from my future husband, you witch!"

Shikamaru and Kanoko stared bewildered at Yukina. Never before had she acted so aggressively towards Kanoko – on contrast, she typically called her Kanoko-nee-chan and told her how excited she was to have Kanoko as a sister.

Crouching down to Yukina's level, Kanoko faced Yukina's scrunched up face, "Yukina-chan… Did I do something to upset you? If so, I do apologize…"

Yukina huffed and puffed out her cheeks, "Just stay away from Shika-kun! He's mine and you can't have him!"

Standing back up, Kanoko raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to respond when Yukina's sister quickly walked up behind Yukina and spoke apologetically, "Oh my! Please ignore her! She heard the girls talking about Shikamaru-san… and you… and took their gossiping to heart…"

Shikamaru turned to Yukina's sister with a curious look. She shifted nervously with a red face – clearly embarrassed to repeat what they said. She was relieved from speaking when Shikaku and his teammates wandered over to the group with pink faces from too much sake.

Inoichi choked out a laugh while pointing at Kanoko, "I gotta say… Thank you… To you!" Kanoko gave him a blank look as he continued drunkenly, "You see… When Ino was born… I thought for sure… I would have it the hardest… of the three of us… Surely no Nara woman…. Could be more trouble… Than an Yamanka!"

Choza barked out a laugh as he interrupted Inoichi and finished before him, "But were we wrong! I'm surprised Shikaku hasn't had a heart attack yet – let alone a full head of hair!" Choza and Inoichi joined in laughter at their grumbling and embarrassed friend and teammate.

"…I hate both of you…" Shikaku mumbled out, moving the sake glass to his mouth.

"SHIKAKU!"

Shikaku choked on his sake, spitting it out onto his teammates.

"Damnit Nara! This is my wife's favorite shirt! She's going to kill me!" Inoichi groaned while Choza just continued to laugh – not caring.

Shikaku ignore his friends and moved, like a man walking towards his death, towards his wife, "Yes dear…"

Kanoko watched her father walk up to Yoshino, who was showing the Hokage to the backyard. Kanoko couldn't hear them from this distance, but she saw her grandniece bark out a laughed before saying something Kanoko guessed had to do with alcohol – judging from the angst look on Shizune's face. Torune placed a comforting hand on Shizune's shoulder – trying to get her to relax while Shino strolled right passed them and made his way to Naruto.

Kanoko watched as Naruto quickly pulled Shino into the little genin group they started – laughing about the year and all that had happened.

Kanoko started to move, to join them, before grunting when she felt a sharp kick to her shin.

"YUKINA!" Her sister chastised her, grabbing her hand and dragging her away, "What did I tell you about kicking people?!"

Kanoko rubbed her pulsing shin while letting a few curses. Shikamaru smirked at his sister, happy to see someone else in pain and suffering besides himself.

Standing back up, Kanoko looked around the yard, "Looks like everyone is here… All the genin teams and the Hyuuga's team…"

"It's nice to know that my presence isn't that important to my own cute genin…"

Kanoko didn't turn around to face her sensei and just grunted, "Gai was going to chase you in at some point…"

"MY ESTEEMED RIVAL! YOU FINALLY MAKE YOUR ENTRANCE!" Gai shouted, Lee standing behind him with stars in his eyes, "ARE WE ABOUT TO WITNESS THE YOUTHFUL AND GLORIOUS BATTLE BETWEEN RIVALS SUCH AS GAI-SENSEI AND KAKASHI-SENSEI?!"

Gai smirk, "Such cool figures as Kakashi and I would not allow our rivalry to get in the way of such a youthful gathering to show thanks - which the Nara Clan kindly puts on." Gai nodded, "YES! Such things are for a different time and place, but make no mistake!" Gai points to a bored looking Kakashi, "We will face off again soon! And this time, I will be the victor! HAHAHA!"

"YES GAI-SENSEI!" Lee shouted while leaping in the air.

"Lee! Inside voice!" Tenten yelled at her teammate. Lee look at Tenten in confusing, "But… We're outside…" Neji came up from behind with a scowl, "It's an expression. It means, stop shouting in public."

"Don't forget about us." Shikamaru and Kanoko heard from behind. Turning around again, Shikamaru watched his sensei and his "not girlfriend" walk up. With his hand in his pockets, trying to look cool, Asuma spoke around the cigarette in his mouth, "Surely I'm my presence means more than the one eyed scarecrow?"

Asuma smirked at Kakashi's unimpressed look, "Oh come on. That was funny!" Kurenai giggled next to him, "You thinking it's funny is what's funny." Asuma groaned before mumbling, "No respect these days…"

*DING DING*

Everyone turned their heads to the sound of metal hitting a glass gently. Standing tall in the middle was their father, Shikaku. Taking a look around with a content smile, he spoke, "Thank you all for coming here. Every year we have a celebration to thank those of the Nara clan for their work for their families, their neighbors, and their village. This clan… Our clan is something to be truly proud of. Not for our growing knowledge and scientific advances in healing and nutrition properties; not for our expansive skills in battle tactics and yin jutsus; and not for our vast lands with a wealth of animal and plant life.

What makes me proud to be a Nara is our commitment we have for those beyond ourselves. We are always worrying, fighting, building, and thinking for others. And never once, has that dedication of care been limited to just those in our clan.

Look around! You will find more than those of the Nara clan here to celebrate in thanks! And while I would open up my doors to the village to celebrate this day with everyone, my wife would likely smother me in my sleep for the amount of food it would take to feed the whole village!"

Everyone laughed as Yoshino gave Shikaku a pointed look before smiling widely to the group.

Chuckling with everyone, Shikaku started up again, "You are more than warriors and protectors. You're healers, scientists, harvesters, researchers, care givers, cook – mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers – you offer so much to us all. And you do so while asking for so little.

And so, before you dig in and enjoy the feast which my son will tell you he bled over while making with his sister and mother, I just want to say:

Thank you."

Shikaku raised his glass as he finished. Everyone raised their own glass for a cheer, shouting out a thank you in unison. It didn't take long for everyone to create a line around the food and chat joyfully with one and another.

Kanoko smiled slightly at the sight before turning back to Shikamaru with a content smile, "Come on. I promised your meat to Kiba." Shikamaru sighed, but followed his sister with a grin of his own.

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Much later, after everyone had left and everything was cleaned up, Yoshino quietly called Shikaku over to gaze at their cute children. Shikaku sluggishly came up behind his wife and his face softened. Passed out on the living room carpet was Kanoko on her back – one arm loosely by her side while the other rested on the back of her brother's head. Arms wrapped around her stomach and head resting on her belly was Shikamaru – his legs curled slightly.

Hugging Yoshino from behind, Shikaku kissed the back of her head before whispering in her ear, "I'm also thankful for this: My perfect family." Yoshino smiled as she leaned back into her husband's chest and nodded, "Me too. Me too."


	29. Chapter 27

As a shinobi, you reach a certain age where everything just starts to blend together. Especially in a place where humans can call up the elemental natures, teleport, and bring back the dead. Nothing surprises you anymore and you fear very little because you can only crap your pants so many time before you just don't care anymore.

And honestly, living to 40 years of age is a celebration in itself – one that Shikaku was damn proud of.

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It was just too bad his daughter would not be able to celebrate the same feat as well.

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Because when he finds her…

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*CRASH*

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If he survives…

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"GET BACK HERE YOU SPINELESS DEER!"

Shikaku turned the corner just in time to avoid a metal filing cabinet flying through the air. Papers littered the air as they poured out the metal drawers. Shikaku paused to blankly stare at the damage the file cabinet made on its way out of the building.

Two holes…

There was a hole in the wall going into an office and a hole not far after that one, exiting the office – the filing cabinet falling to its death outside. Frozen stiff inside the office was Inoichi, sitting at his desk with his mouth wide open – the hole the file cabinet went out an inch to his left.

" _I so badly want to stand here and laugh at Inoichi, but…_ " Shikaku thought, hearing the sound of loud footsteps of his Hokage racing towards him. Without another thought, Shikaku proceeded to… Well anywhere not here…

"YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME NARA! BY ORDER OF THE HOKAGE YOUR PROCREATING ABILITIES ARE HEREBY REVOKED!"

Shikaku turned another corner before plowing through the doors to the jounin break room. Inside he found several battle-scarred warriors hiding behind chairs and tables – kicking each other out of their hiding places to offer up as some sort of sacrifice.

Shikaku gave them a dull look before rubbing his forehead, " _Oh previous Hokages… I can only hope that you are looking over the village and protecting us from danger. Because its current protection is a bunch of adolescent morons…_ "

"Damnit Raido… STOP KICKING ME OUT!" Aoba shouted, getting into a slapping match with his fellow jounin behind the couch.

*BAM*

Shikaku's head snapped behind him at the sound of the doors slamming open again. He went pale as a dark aura spilled into the room – a woman crackling in wicked laughter slowing walking into the room.

"…Found you…"

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"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Screamed the room, full of shinobi.

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Looking back at the events to follow, many would claim the lack of capable ninja to defend the Leaf during a possible evasion, and other terrible events, was due to accepting of too many missions at once.

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However…

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The victims of that night – all the ninja in the jounin break room (and a few other shinobi in the wrong place at the right time) as well as the hospital staff knew better…

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Not that a single one ever spoke of it…

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"Come on Duck Butt! Liven up a little!" Came the mocking bark from the young Inuzuka. Sasuke gave him a hard stare back, trying to look intimidating.

Unfortunately, the fluffy spotted puppy tentatively licking his chin as it snugged cutely into his lap removed any fear Kiba should have been feeling. The cooing girl in the background at the cuteness didn't help matters either.

Snickering, Kiba spoke again, "Here. If it's such a bother, I'll take Haru from you…" Kiba reached out to grab the small dog when Sasuke glared harder: Daring Kiba to take Haru and **see what happens**. Kiba grinned wide, showing a fang, but placing his hands in the air in peace, "Hey man, just trying to help out my teammate! No need to get possessive."

Hinata giggled at her male teammates, "I think we all know what you were trying to do, Kiba." Hinata's eyes softened at the wide eyed pup in Sasuke's lap.

A few weeks after the Chunin exams, one of Kiba's sister's, Hana's, dogs had a litter of pups. As luck would have it, Team Kurenai chose to meet up at the Inuzuka residence that morning, pulling them into the room to have a look. Sasuke, of course, had to be dragged inside – not interested in watching blobs come out of a mutt (his words). Hinata and Kiba watched excitedly as the puppies started popping out – Kiba making predictions on which would be the strongest, which would be the best tracker, and so on. As the birthing process came to a close, one last pup struggled to make its way out. This one was by far the smallest and weakest – easily making it the runt. Kiba easily dismissed the runt, choosing instead to talk about the other puppies to his teammates.

But Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes were glued to the runt.

The next day, Kiba met up with Sasuke to do some individual training themselves. At the end, Sasuke, trying to sound as uninterested as possible, asked about the litter. Shrugging, Kiba offered Sasuke to come over and see – too tired to explain. Once at the Inuzuka compound, Sasuke immediately sought out the runt, who was growing ever so slowly. He watched as the other puppies crawled all over the runt and knocked him away from his mother. Sasuke grunted, getting frustrated with the puppy's weakness and inability to grow stronger.

But as he turned to leave, angry at himself for caring, he heard the plastic fencing shutter across the floor slightly. Turning back around, Sasuke's eyebrow rose. Pushing at the small fence around the litter was the runt – gumming at the fence and looking up at Sasuke with his crystal blue eyes.

"He wants you to pick him up." Hana had told him at the time, coming up behind him.

Sasuke just gave the puppy an unimpressed look before shoving his hand in his pockets and leaving. Hana shook her head with a smile. If Sasuke thought she didn't see a smile on his face when he turned around, then he was mistaken.

To say Kiba was shocked when Sasuke showed up at his door the next day, silently demanding to be let in, was an understatement. And after that, every time Sasuke came over, Haru, the runt, sought Sasuke out – either finding his way into Sasuke's lap or walking around him in circles until he got a petting or nod of approval.

Kiba smirked, walking away with a sigh, "There's just no trust among ninjas, is there?"

Sasuke smirked, "Not when the ninja in question is you."

Hinata nodded, giggling louder.

Kiba fell down into his chair with a pout, "Whatever!" He quickly leaned forward to grin, "Enough about me! Word on the street is that _Shikamaru_ , our resident lazy bastard, became chunin. Can you believe it?!"

Hinata nodded with a smile, "Kanoko became a chunin as well…"

Sasuke frowned, "No surprise there." If Sasuke had a point to make, he didn't clarify.

Kiba shook his head, "Well, yeah! Like Sasuke said, not surprising! Kanoko is crazy skilled! I mean do you remember how she ripped Sasuke's soul out and then _put it back in?!_ Talk about insane…"

Hinata nodded, "Well… Shikamaru's her brother… Is it really surprising he made chunin?"

Sasuke scoffed, "Yes." Rolling his eyes, he continued, "While I don't understand exactly why they would chose to promote a ninja so weak, Shikamaru has never been an idiot. He's not a genius like Neji, but if given the right resources, he could out smart Neji a million times over."

Kiba's eyebrows rose high, "Wow. You really put a lot of thought into this."

Sasuke shrugged, "Like Hinata said, he's Kanoko's brother. I was interested to know if he was on the same level as her."

Kiba's face slowly turned into a smirk. Hinata sighed, sensing no good from Kiba. Chuckling lowly, Kiba said, "So you're saying that you've been stalking Shikamaru? Oooo. Wait until the whole female population of the village hears that its number one eligible bachelor is out of their grasps forever…"

Sasuke's eye narrowed, "…What are you saying?"

Kiba got up from his chair and walked slowly towards the window before quickly yelling out it, "LADIES OF THE LEAF! UCHIHA SASUKE LIKES MEN!"

"INUZUKA! YOU'RE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME?! **DEAD**!" Sasuke roared, leaping towards him. Kiba laughed hard as he jumped out of the window and away from an enraged Uchiha.

Haru whined at Sasuke's departure before Hinata stepped behind him and tentatively picked him up. Holding him close to her face, she giggled and started to pet him, "I don't know why boys act so weird when they're bored either."

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The moon was high in the sky, just one day away from the full moon. The shine of the moon made the water below glitter, creating a fairytale-like scene.

Kanoko barely noticed as the leaves fell in front of her face. She knelt down in front of the water, watching it slowly drift back on forth with the wind.

" _How many battles must we fight? How many wars must we defend against? How many times must we die?_ " Kanoko placed her hand in the water, slowly pulling it up and watching the water flow out of her hand, " _With every generation, the world becomes safer and more dangerous – all at once. So much of what I have witness in this new life as Kanoko has given me great happiness and hope._ "

Slowly standing, Kanoko turned her head to the moon, " _…But the danger has only grown. As the five nations become unequal in power, the scale of power tips until it's on the ground – in pieces. The Cloud, Rock, and Leaf have grown strong – stronger than the Mist and Sand. This imbalance will lead to another war, and yet… I cannot in good conscience say I would support limiting the Leaf's power and strength for the benefit of the world._ "

Kanoko turned around and started to walk away before stopping at a tree and placing a hand on its trunk to lean against it, " _The Narutos and Hashiramas of the world would berate me for my cynicism, but I am the same man from when I held my sword over a fallen Uchiha Madara. I act in the interest of those important to me and I see little else._ "

Exhaling into the warm night air and looking back up at the moon, Kanoko spoke lowly, "Is that why I am here, because I can't find peace? Because the thought is so foreign to me that even death would reject me?"

"Seems pretty simple to me. You're here because you walked here… Or ran here… Or teleported here… You know what, I take it back – clearly this is not a simple conclusion to come to." A voice spoke sluggishly.

Kanoko, with a raised eyebrow, looked down at the figure as he plotted his butt onto the ground and leaned his back against the tree with a grunt.

"And stop thinking so hard about the future. What happens, happens. What's important is that we will always be there for each other – no matter what. You, me, Choji, Ino, Sakura, Naruto… Even Kiba, Hinata and Sasuke." He rubbed his shoulder, stretching slightly, "The world isn't perfect and neither are we, but for every moment we are shedding tears of sadness, there are ten moments when we are shedding tears of happiness."

"It might not be someone else's definition of peace and happiness, but it's mine. Surrounded by my friends and family; watching the clouds with Choji; laughing at Naruto and Kiba with Hinata fretting over them on in the background; chuckling at Sasuke's attempts to outrun his stalkers/fans/Naruto; listening to Ino and Sakura giggle about boys, flowers, and other girly things; making fun of Asuma-sensei about his "non-romantic/as-if-everyone-doesn't-already-know" relationship with Kurenai-sensei..."

Shikamaru looked up at his sister, "Doesn't it make you happy too?"

Kanoko sighed through her nose, her eyelids dropping. She stared into Shikamaru's black eyes, "…It does."

Shikamaru frowned, "Then why do you think you can't find peace?"

Kanoko was silent before slowly sitting down next to her brother, also leaning against the tree. She turned her head towards the sparkling sky before answering quietly, "Because…" Kanoko stopped to collect her words, "I worry too much. Even if there was only one person in my life that I lived for, I would do anything to protect them and their happiness."

Shikamaru leaned against his sister and spoke with a yawn, "Maybe that's your problem. You're living for them and not with them."

Kanoko turned her head slightly to raise an eyebrow at him. Shikamaru yawned again before closing his eyes – tired after a long day.

" _Living for them and not with them, huh?_ " Kanoko thought before smirking lightly at her brother's dozing form, " _Perhaps that is what Hashirama meant every time he told me to "lighten up"._ "

Smiling wistfully, Kanoko evened her breathing as she placed her sleeping brother on her back and started on her way home – her feet moving lightly, so she doesn't wake him up.

.

Shikamaru lazily opened as eye to stare at his sister before smiling lightly and closing his eyes to sleep again. He heard were his father's words from before, " _She's rough around the edges… But …She truly and deeply cares for you._ "

His smile grew, " _I know… She cares the most._ "

And that was the last thought he had before falling asleep on his sister's back – completely at peace.

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" _Not long now…_ " Kanoko thought, looking up at the rising sun.

The morning was just starting and many people were still in bed sleeping.

Turning her head around, she leaped into the air and started jumping from roof to roof until she landed at a certain apartment complex. Walking up slow to the door, she held her hand up to knock on the door.

She stopped before knocking on it to give the door a dull look, " _Why waste my time knocking when he's likely still sleeping…_ " Kanoko hopped around the building to the window over Naruto's bed. Kanoko sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

On the bed, behind an unlocked window, was a drooling Naruto – cuddling a life size pillow with a frog cap on his head.

"… _No sense of security and paranoia at all…_ " Kanoko's eye twitched, " _…So much to fix…_ "

Looking up at the cloudy sky with a small scowl, Kanoko crewed herself out, " _You can't keep putting this off. No one is going to step up, so it's up to you to teach him some of his heritage – consequences be damned._ " Kanoko rubbed her temple with her palm while muttering, "Even if that consequence is your sanity…"

Opening the window, Kanoko pulled the pillow Naruto was hugging before throwing it back in his face, "Wake up."

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*SNOOORE*

Naruto turned over on his back, arms stretched, and continued to sleep.

Kanoko's eye twitched dangerous, " _I could have killed this idiot three times over by now!_ " Tightening her fist Kanoko told herself, " _Calm… Forthcoming shinobi must suppress their emotions…_ " Exhaling, Kanoko turned back and kicked Naruto off the bed.

"GYAHHH!" Naruto wailed before jumping back on his bed in a sad defensive stance – barely keeping his balance while doing so.

Naruto blinked at the blank look of his teammate, "…Kanoko?"

Kanoko flicked her wrist, "Get dressed. I'm going to start your and Sakura's training before I leave on my mission."

Naruto tilted his head before jumping up and down with a large grin on his face, "TRAINING?! YES!" He quickly ran around the room, throwing clothes – completely disregarding Kanoko in the room. Naruto was only in his boxers when his head jerked around to a bored looking Kanoko.

"AHHH!" Naruto quickly dived behind a pile of clothes, "Whoops… Forgot you were there…" Kanoko shrugged, "Nothing I haven't seen before… In any case, meet me at training ground 3 in ten minutes – or we'll start without you." And with that, Kanoko jumped off of the window and walked towards the training grounds.

Naruto nodded at thin air before pausing and thinking about what Kanoko said. He pulled on his pants as he mumbled, "Nothing she hasn't seen before…" Naruto shrugged on his shirt, moving passed the thought as he grinned and ran out the front door of his apartment.

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"Sakura-chan! Morning!" Naruto shouted, running up and smiling at his pink haired crush. "Morning Naruto..." She responded, eyeing his over enthusiasm this morning.

Kanoko quickly interrupted, not having time for greetings and team bonding moments, "You both have special teachers now, in addition to Kakashi-sensei. This will make your free time scarce and force your multitasking abilities to become all that more important, but I don't have time to get into that now." Kanoko paused to look them both in the eye, "The point I'm trying to make is no one teacher is more important, more skilled, more knowledge overall than the other. Sure, Tsunade is an expert in healing jutsus and chakra control while Jiraiya is a master of seals and summons, but that doesn't make their skills in lightening jutsus more impressive than Kakashi-sensei's."

"In fact, I would argue that Kakashi-sensei's ingenuity in traps and tricks, as well as his vast knowledge of jutsus of all the elements, makes him a more frightening shinobi. You can see the Jiraiyas and Tsunades of the world coming from a mile away – if you are a shinobi of intelligence -, but the Kakashis of the world are the ones you won't see coming and will make your end that much more painful…"

Kanoko counted the time in her head, " _I need to get to the point…_ " Sakura raised her hand to ask a question. Kanoko quickly responded before Sakura spoke, "Like I said, I don't have much time, so I'll answer your questions later."

Continuing on Kanoko pulled out a scroll, "Essentially, what I am saying is don't focus all your attention on one jutsu, teacher, or ninja art. Balance your time as best as you can." Kanoko walked over and gave Naruto a scroll before walking to Sakura and giving her a scroll as well.

"In those scrolls is a list of tasks, to be completed _**in order**_ – Naruto, I'm talking to you. **In order.** " Naruto huffed and crossed his arms.

Kanoko ignored his pouting and continued, "They don't have to be completed right away, but I suggest putting some thought into completing them. The skills and information you will gather from completing these task will be beneficial in the future."

Kanoko paused to look at Naruto directly, "Naruto… Do you recall when we first met and I told you your clan name did not scare me?"

Naruto nodded, giving Kanoko a scowl before smirking, "Was that before or after you fell into the hole I left for you?"

Kanoko's eye twitched. Ignoring his statement, and being the adult in the room – although difficult – Kanoko continued, "I believe it is about time you start living up to your clan name and learn their ways." Kanoko started pacing back and forth with an irritated look on her face, "Of course… Digging up real and factual information on the Uzumaki clan was a joke. You would think the clan the Leaf village based its symbol on would be mentioned in more than a fairytale book…"

Kanoko started to grumble, "…When I figure out which idiot or idiots were in charge of writing the village's history and distributing it out to the next generation…" Kanoko trailed off before muttering quietly, "I should consider myself lucky they spelled my name right – as incorrect and vague as they wrote everything else…"

Sakura sighed, recognizing the tell-tail signs of a "Nara rant" starting. Laughing nervously, Sakura tentatively tried to pull Kanoko back to point, "Kanoko… Don't you have to leave soon…?"

Kanoko turned to Sakura and blinked, "Oh. Right." Coughing lowly, Kanoko started again, "Naruto. Completing that list will get you closer becoming a true Uzumaki – though I warn you, it will take time. And lots of reading."

Naruto groaned at the word "reading". Pouting he turned to Sakura, curious what her list was. Sakura opened her scroll with a side glare at Naruto's encroaching face.

Turning to Sakura, Kanoko spoke again, "Sakura. You are clanless ninja. While that means you have more knowledge and are better equipped than a civilian born shinobi, it still puts you at a disadvantage. You don't have a history of shinobi to base your skills and abilities off of and only your parent's knowledge and resources to pull from."

Sakura sighed, not unknown to this fact – having heard it from Ino a long time ago. Kanoko continued, "Although, this also means you are not limited. Had I been different, but still interested in offensive tactics, I would likely be forced away from such ninja arts by my clan – a clan that does not specialize in such brazen offensive tactics."

Kanoko pointed to the scroll, "While Naruto's scroll is designed around learning more about his clan, yours is to teach you about clan politics. Who are the clan heads, what role do they serve, what are clan elders, what part do they play in the management of the clan, how does the clan interact with the village's government, and what mercantile does each of Konoha's clans deal in or, in some cases, monopolize."

Kanoko paused to give Sakura a firm look, "In this new world, your worth is no longer in the strength you possess to defend the village, but instead, in what you offer it outside of battles and wars. Knowledge of the clan politics will be crucial in surviving the most dangerous battles: Those within your own home."

Sakura nodded, staring at the scroll in curiosity. Kanoko internally smirked. She could already see the gears moving in Sakura's head. Turning to the both of them, she spoke one last time, "I have to get going." Kanoko paused before rubbing the back of her neck, "I hope you use your time well and learn as much as you can quickly… There's no telling what our future holds…"

Kanoko looked to the side with a half lidded look, " _And the fact that I'm even breathing again leads me to believe a dark reality is closer than everyone thinks…_ "

Kanoko's eyes moved over to her teammates when she saw both of them closely reviewing the scroll in front of them. She smiled lightly, " _For all they drive me to the brink of insanity and worry… I couldn't ask for a more dedicated and determined team…_ "

With a hand sign, Kanoko flickered out of the area and headed for the gates to meet up with her temporary team, for patrol duty.

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" _You know… They used to be so cute. But now…_ " Kakashi thought as he hid in the forest's foliage – not too far away from his fellow Leaf shinobi. Kakashi was pouting over his meet up with his teambefore starting his current mission. As per usual, Kakashi asked them to be at the meet up at 7am sharp, but when he showed up around 9am (which isn't even _late_ by his standards – they should've been grateful) he was met with the sight of…

Naruto.

 **Reading.**

.

He thought about turning around right then and there. Screw the Waterfall possibly invading – this was _**far**_ scarier.

However, being the calm and collected professional he is, he just gave them a "Yo" before asking what the two genin were reading so intently.

.

.

.

They ignored him.

.

He was torn between being proud and depressed. They weren't supposed to act bored and aloof _around him_ , just everyone else… That wasn't too much to ask, was it?

The whole situation had Nara Kanoko written all over it.

Kakashi gave the Leaf shinobi assigned to him for this mission a few hand signs before moving forward. As he shifted through the branches and leaves, he thought about his team again.

The moment the Hokage informed him he would be assigned Naruto, he was happy – if not a little terrified. This was his sensei's son. What if he didn't train him right and he got hurt? Or worse, killed? Or worse than that, drove him to betray the village? Kakashi was under no illusions that he was… sensitive in nature. In fact, many of his _friends_ would say he was a bit socially challenged while laughing at him.

Kakashi always countered that all good shinobi had one or five screws loose…

To summarize, Kakashi felt like he was always walking on eggshells around Naruto – trying to be the sensei his sensei was, but also being himself while doing so.

Of course, having Sakura on the team was a blessing, even if it didn't seem like it. Sakura kept Naruto grounded and focused – well focused for Naruto. While he wasn't sure why Naruto liked the pink haired kunoichi so much, the blond certainly did have strong feelings for her. Getting stronger wasn't just about beating Kanoko or Sasuke, or proving his worth to the village – much of the time, getting stronger was about impressing or protecting Sakura.

And Sakura, while having an unhealthy obsession for Sasuke, didn't treat Naruto with absolute disgust. She did in the beginning, but without Sasuke around for her to impress and Naruto not able to pick fights with him left and right, she started to see Naruto as a person and not some strange kid obsessed with her.

It was a shame that she didn't realize the reason she couldn't stand Naruto in the beginning is the same reason Sasuke can't stand her. It's not fun to be the center of someone's world when you barely know them – in fact, it's quite disturbing.

And then there was Kanoko…

Oh, he's cute little Nara that left him sleeping with one eye open for fear of her silent wrath. When the Hokage gave him the list of his genin and pointed out Kanoko's name, telling him to watch her closely, he _assumed_ Shikaku had asked Kanoko be assigned to him as a personal favor. After all, Shikaku's son was assigned to the Hokage's son's team – clearly the system was rigged.

If wasn't until later that Kakashi realized the Hokage told him to keep an eye on Kanoko because _Kanoko_ was the threat.

In the Leaf village, prodigies are easily identified. Uchiha Itachi, Hyuuga Neji, and himself – just to name a few – were easily identified and given a clear pathway to use their skills to benefit the village. The path was not an easy or even humane one, however. One look at Uchiha Itachi told a person what happens when the prodigy finally breaks under the pressure and stress.

How he, himself, hasn't already committed suicide several times over is a mystery. Kakashi liked to think it was his sensei and Obito looking over him and helping him, even after they long passed…

In any case, prodigies didn't just _appear out of thin air_ at age 12. There were too many… _Influential_ people who were on the constant look out for new talent. Even Nara Shikamaru was recognized early on as a genius among geniuses – to the displeasure of Kakashi's jounin commander.

But, until she let it known, no one saw Kanoko for what she was: A terrifying genius of unknown potential.

Looking back, Kakashi wondered if there were any signs.

She was a straight A student – It was understandable. Coming from a clan of intellect, she showed careful thought in her answers and actions, but never going overboard in her explanations. She showed great commitment and determination, but nothing unlike the women of her clan.

Kanoko was distant and colder than most children her age, but not dissimilar to Aburame Shino or even Uchiha Sasuke. At the time, everyone was so concerned with Sasuke's mental health after the massacre that Kakashi doubted anyone looked at Kanoko's distain for the other children too closely.

The only clue that there was more to Kanoko was her rapidly growing chakra reserves and her talent in taijutsu. Those of the Nara clan were typically support shinobi – either specializing in trapping, strategizing, healing, or in rare cases, poisons. They also developed their chakra later in life than most, and started out with very small reserves.

How did Kanoko know to keep her skill and knowledge of Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu a secret? Kakashi wondered if Shikaku warned her against it…

And how did she even get her hands on the materials to form her seals? That stuff was only sold to chunin and jounin, and even chunin were looked at closely when purchasing such materials… Kakashi doubted her overprotective father would just _allow_ her to run around forming seals that could kill her – he was certainly no expert and could not teach her.

Kakashi stopped his team and waited as the Waterfall ninja started moving about below.

Holding his breath, Kakashi thought again about his students. When they first met him on the roof, he felt a sense of nostalgia. At that point, he only knew a limited amount of information about Naruto and even less about the two girls.

And looking at them from his spot on the railing…

…He saw himself, Obito and Rin before him.

But Team 7 of the now is nothing like the Team 7 of the past. Instead of blowing passed the team's "loser" and turning up a nose at his weakness, Kanoko awkwardly extended an olive branch to Naruto. From the first day, Kanoko treated both of her teammates like important members of the village – instead of kids foolishly playing with knives.

That's not to say Kanoko didn't mess up along the way. Clearly, she saw Naruto and Sakura as just that: kids foolishly playing with knives. However, her pride wouldn't allow her to "mother hen" them. It was amusing to watch Kanoko run in front of Naruto or Sakura, slice the enemy's head off before turning around to chastise them for their carelessness.

Later, it would occur to him that she never flinched at the blood or the brutality in which she cut her enemies down.

Despite the fights between her and Naruto about human life, mercy and caring about more than oneself (Kakashi saw so much of his sensei in Naruto…) and despite her scolding Sakura about her useless and unhealthy obsession with the Uchiha (her words), and despite her tendency to make enemies rather than friends…

Kakashi saw something in her most don't: An unwavering loyalty and compassion for the Leaf and its citizens. He's seen the way her whole presence changes – her eyes turning a deep shade of red, her body straightening, and her aura changing into that of a proud warrior's…

The changes may be too subtle for most to catch, but Kakashi was trained by the Fourth Hokage. He recognized the signs as clear as day – the overpowering urge to obliterate anything that threatened the village and those within it…

.

The son of the Fourth Hokage and an incredibly powerful Uzumaki, and vessel of the nine-tailed beast; The (recently selected) apprentice to the Fifth Hokage/the Leaf's most genius medical expert; And one of the heirs of the Nara clan with knowledge and skills beyond her years.

.

.

.

"… _And their futures are riding on my ability to train them properly…_ " Kakashi sighed dramatically, " _I should have stayed in ANBU… If I survive the three of them – the village will likely be so impressed they'll make me the next Hokage…_ "

Kakashi looked across the way with an exasperated look, towards his _rival_ , Gai, " _I'd rather spend the rest of my days running circles around the village with Gai…_ "

At that moment, Gai looked over and sent him a sparkling grin with a thumbs up.

Kakashi went pale, " _I take it back!_ "

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Kanoko followed behind quietly. She was the least senior chunin in this group and was not looking to make any waves. So far, the patrol had been silent and peaceful. Every once in a while one of the male shinobi would make a crude remark to the kunoichi next to him – sending her in to a fit of quiet giggles.

The Nara could tell that it was grating on the lead chunin's nerves. After what felt like the hundredth time, the leader turned around a roughly gestured to the ground.

All four of them landed at the base of a tree, stretching from tiring muscles – they had been circling around the area for most of the day.

The leader crossed his arms and glared, "A ten minute break and then we start again and Takeshi – You better get everything out you want to tell Kyoko now because I swear… You say one more thing while were patrolling…"

Takeshi held his hands in the air with a sheepish look, "My bad… I'll stop. Promise."

Kyoko giggled next to him, "Riiight. Self-control's never been one of your strong points, Takeshi dear."

"Man! No relief! Are you going to get a kick in too, newbie?" Takeshi grinned at Kanoko.

Kanoko just stared blankly before turning around to place a hand on a tree – pushing her chakra out to get a read on her surroundings.

"Cht. Quiet type I see…" Takeshi started before his girlfriend wacked him on the shoulder lightly.

"Leave her alone Takeshi. She's twelve!"

Kyoko gave him a pointed look before their leader interrupted them, "Ok. Enough. We're heading out." Looking over to a concentrating Kanoko, his eyes narrowed, "What is it Nara?"

Kanoko tilted her head, struggling to push out her chakra, "…Someone's trying to hide their presence… I can't…"

The team flinched before tensing and pulling out their weapons. Looking around, the leader started assigning them positions. He didn't get to finish as Kanoko spun around and bellowed, "Four coming in hot!"

.

The warning didn't come soon enough before the area exploded.

.

"GYAH!" Kanoko coughed out as the explosion burned her right side. She flew back, but was able to catch a branch and swing herself around – just in time to avoid an attack from the enemy ninja. The shinobi's sword sliced the tree in half, taking a few strands of her hair while doing so.

"IDIOT! SHE'S THE ONE WE NEED ALIVE!" Kanoko heard from behind her. Quickly, she formed a hand sign, "Water Style: Water Shockwave!" It was a mild form of her usual water jutsu, but was enough to push the two enemies back.

Kanoko dove to the ground before taking off in a run, towards the energy signature of her squad leader. Coming up on the scene, she watched him exchange a fire attack with the enemy's lightening jutsu. She jolted in to defend his back against another kenjutsu user – their swords clashing as they canceled each other out.

The ninja jumped back to assess Kanoko with silent intrigue. Kanoko gave him a bland look in return before shifting her eyes to the battle to her left. Takeshi and Kyoko were fairing badly against the two enemy nin. Kanoko's eyes narrowed, " _Just who are we dealing with…? We shouldn't be struggling this much…_ "

Her leader must have been on the same train of thought as he spoke to the three ninja before them, "…Your techniques… You are from the Village Hidden in the Clouds… Are you really willing to start a war?"

The one staring intently at Kanoko spoke for the group, "I'm sorry to have to do this, but your small doe is coming with us." He slowly lifted his arm to point with two fingers, "I ask that you do not fight us because with a single strike of my gale style, you will not survive."

Kanoko's squad leader gritted his teeth, "Darui of the Cloud… To send someone such as yourself to the Leaf… You would seriously believe we would just hand over one of our own!" He started running through signs, "Fire Style: Flame Wheel!"

Fire spin around Kanoko and her squad leader, burning the foliage and causing the ninja to jump back. Sensing an incoming attack, Kanoko yelled, "Above!"

Quickly, the two dispersed – avoiding the flame style attack. Kanoko watched as the blonde grinned widely and shouted, "You won't be able to avoid my hot attacks forever!" And with that, he quickly sent another slice of fire with his sword towards Kanoko's squad leader.

Kanoko started to move forward to help when she felt energy come from her side. Spinning towards it, Kanoko pulled her sword around to counter the gale style attack with a wind attack. The attacks clashed and a large gust burst out from the attack, sending Kanoko a few steps back.

"Though it will be dull, we will defeat your comrades in arms. However, if you were to surrender now, we would spare their lives." The platinum blonde spoke, walking calming towards her with a bored expression.

Kanoko narrowed her eyes, "You commit an act of war, but offer me a choice: Surrender and my comrades live? One side is not leaving here alive – this I know to be true. To promise anything else is a blatant lie."

Darui shrugged, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend you, but I was being serious. I will leave your friends unconscious, but alive if you leave with us now."

The Nara stilled, listening to the clashing of metal, " _The one before me… He's clearly jounin level._ " Kanoko's eyes shifted to the other cloud ninja – who were playing with her teammates, " _High chunin level… Maybe jounin as well…_ "

Focusing her eyes back on the Cloud ninja before her, she spoke, "Darui… Was it? Tell me. What story is your Raikage planning on spinning to avoid war, but keep his prize? And while we are on the subject, what is his interest in a child such as I?" Kanoko paused, before adding, "Answer my questions and I will consider your proposal carefully."

His shoulders dropped before giving Kanoko a dull look, "You call yourself a child, and yet, in the face of an overwhelming force, you ask me such bold questions?" Darui scratched the back of his head sluggishly as he muttered, "I wonder just what kind of trouble the Cloud is getting itself into…"

Kanoko's face stayed neutral before shifting her eyes over to her team. The three of them had been pinned in-between the three cloud ninja, who were casually standing around them – swinging their weapons around playfully.

Darui stole Kanoko's attention again, "But I will answer your questions…"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, " _He's speaking slowly and is willing to answer my questions?_ " Kanoko's eyes shifted to her injured teammates again, " _…And why haven't they killed them?_ "

Darui was speaking to Kanoko, but she wasn't listening – instead she interrupted him, "Enough. You are clearly stalling me. And I will have no part of it!" Darui cursed as Kanoko teleported over to her team.

"Lightning Release: Black Panther!" Darui shouted, sending a black lightening panther towards the Leaf nin.

Teleporting in front of her team, Kanoko quickly ran through a series of hand signs, "Wind Release: Pressure Damage!" Wind slowly started spinning around their position before rapidly kicking up into a massive storm.

"GYAH!" One of the Cloud ninja screamed, getting caught in the massive tornado and being knocking into several trees.

"BACK! EVERYONE!" Darui roared out to his team – all of them racing away from the storm.

Kanoko firmed her stance and applied more chakra into the storm – completely uprooting the trees in for vicinity. Looking back down at her team, she spoke, "I'm their target. You need to get out of here while their attention is focused on me."

Takeshi held his injured leader in his arms, "You can't possibly expect us to leave you?! You're a new chunin and these guys are the real deal! We need to help YOU escape!"

In his arms, their squad leader coughed up blood and told the team, "Listen… *cough* To Nara… She's right… It's vital to our village's safety… That word of this attack gets back!"

Kyoko joined in as she wrapped the leader's wounds, "But…!"

"Enough! Go! Report back to the village! That's an order!" The leader coughed out, spitting up more blood, "And you will leave me. I will only slow you down."

Kanoko looked down at her leader, her storm starting to break as her chakra rapidly faded, " _He's right… The chances they make it back are already slim… They can't afford to drag another along._ "

Takeshi gritted his teeth as he closed his eyes, "…Damn Cloud ninja!" He opened them back up to place a hand on his leader, "We're going to avenge you Daisuke, I promise." Daisuke just snorted as Takeshi looked up at Kanoko, "…Do whatever it takes to stay alive. We'll come for you."

Kanoko nodded before speaking, "You need not come for me. I can teleport myself back, but I will keep the Cloud nin here long enough for your escape." Kanoko formed a hand sign and two clones appeared. Quickly the clones transformed into her teammates, Takeshi and Kyoko, as the real Kanoko picked Daisuke up – letting him leave on her shoulder.

She stared at the chunin for a moment before continuing, "Do not turn back, do not slow down. You will die if you hesitate. I will teleport back to the village once you are in the clear."

Takeshi nodded, "Alright… But if you don't make it back when we get there, I'll assume you were taken."

Kanoko smirked slightly, "…Thank you for the concern." And with that, Kanoko raced out of the clearing storm and in the direction of the village – pushing out her chakra as a lure.

They took the bait, as Kanoko felt all four chakra signatures quickly making their way to her location. Kanoko zigged-zagged through the woods, leaving earth walls in her wake. It took some time, but they were slowly closing in.

Suddenly, the platinum blonde from before, Darui, appeared a few feet next to her – keeping up with her pace. He gazed sadly at Kanoko dragging her leader around before moving away to evade attacks from "Takeshi" and "Kyoko".

Kanoko's clones were keeping their distance – fearing her trick being revealed too soon.

"Gale Style: Laser Circus!" Darui bellowed, sending beams of lights towards Kanoko's "teammates" making them poof away.

Darui's eyes widened slightly, "…Clones." Jumping down behind him was his teammates. Giving them a look, they nodded – about to take off to find the real Takeshi and Kyoko.

Until they suddenly realized they couldn't.

"What the hell?!" One of them yelled, struggling in his movements.

"It's the Nara clan's jutsu! I should have seen it coming… I am sorry Darui…" The blonde kunoichi of the group spoke in a grave voice. Attached to each of them was a black line, extending from Kanoko.

"Shadow possession jutsu, complete." Kanoko muttered, keeping her expressionless gaze firm the leader: Darui.

Darui cursed lowly before sighing, "…I am just as responsible Samui, so you'll have to forgive me as well… This is really dull…"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, " _I never thought I would meet someone who apologized more than Hyuuga Hinata…_ " Speaking out loud, Kanoko regarded the leader, "We both know how this will end, so I ask again, what plan does the Cloud have to avoid war with the Leaf?"

"What makes you think we intend to avoid war?! Leaf scum!" A ninja with light blonde hair and an orange highlight spat out at Kanoko.

"Karai!" Samui snapped at him.

Kanoko just shook her head with a huff, "After everything your second Raikage went through to establish peace for your people, you would promote war so freely?" Kanoko scoffed, "Such insolence."

Karai opened his mouth to yell back at Kanoko when Darui cut in with a serious tone, "You speak about our Second Raikage as if you knew him…"

Kanoko ignored him as she felt her chakra draining away again. Pulling out a scroll with one hand, Kanoko activated it – sending more chakra into her body, " _A few more minutes and that should be enough time for Takeshi and Kyoko to get back._ " Kanoko assessed those in front of her carefully, " _He still hasn't answered my question… I don't believe the boy when he says the Cloud is seeking war with the Leaf. Even if their hate is that strong, with our solidified alliance with the Sand – not matter how weak they are right now – puts us in a position to deal a great number casualties to the Cloud._ "

Changing tactics, Kanoko asked instead, "What is so unique about me that the Raikage would seek my presence?" Cocking an eyebrow, Kanoko continued, "From what I've gathered, Kumo is known for their thieving of ninja with kekkei genkai – I assure you, I hold none."

Samui narrowed her eyes, "You have us trapped while your fellow comrades escape and you believe your worth to be so little?"

Kanoko heard her leader chuckle with choking on blood, "She's… Got a point… You're a force… To be reckoned with."

Kanoko opened her mouth to respond when Darui spoke suddenly, "I'll tell you how we plan on avoiding war with your village."

The Nara narrowed her eyes with suspicion, "…Go on."

Darui shrugged as best he could while trapped before continuing, "You see, when a ninja becomes a missing nin, their village abandon ties with them. It's one of the reasons why hunter nin are sent out so quickly – to prevent that missing nin from joining another village." Darui tilted his head with a sluggish look, "At that point, the village the ninja originated from cannot blame the village the missing nin joins – for the fault lies with the ninja who abandoned their village."

Kanoko stilled, her heart stopping before she slowly and dangerously spoke, "You… Would not dare…"

"But we already did." Kanoko heard her own voice speak behind her. Whirling around, Kanoko was met with her own face before receiving a jab in the stomach.

" _How?! How did they mask their presence from me?!_ " Kanoko thought as she watched her "clone" shout out.

"Sealing Technique: Dark Aura!"

Kanoko's eyes went wide and her pupils became pin points.

She knew exactly what this fuinjutsu technique was…

.

As Tobirama, he often visited the Uzumaki clan's village – in particular, one Uzumaki who loved to beat him with a variety of seals. He, not one to accept defeat lightly, faced off with her on many occasions.

One such occasion, he remembered her using this exact seal. He remembered how the black essence traveled over his body – completely cutting off his chakra. After blocking his chakra points, crimson lines formed around his body – trapping his movements and leaving him flat as a log on the ground.

He remembered her cocky look as she placed a hand on her hip and stepped on his chest.

As Tobirama, he was trapped and at her mercy…

.

In the present, as Kanoko…

.

It took everything she had not to let the panic set in.

.

How dare they…

How dare they use an Uzumaki originated seal against her… One that her friend created…

How dare they attack the Leaf…

How dare they try to use her against her village…

How dare they paint _**her**_ as a traitor…

HOW DARE THEY!

.

Gritting her teeth as she felt the seal wrapping itself around her body she caught a look at Daisuke, her team leader. He nodded at her before closing him eyes – knowing what was next.

Focusing her chakra to the ground, Kanoko exhaled before snapping her eyes back at Darui, "I will never forgive your village for what you have done today… **I am NO TRAITOR TO KONOHA!** "

Darui's eyes widened as the ground and trees glowed with a light blue lines, "BOMB!" He yelled, while speeding out of the area.

.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

Darui flew through the air as the explosion's energy hit him from behind, burning his back and sending him roughly through the trees. After landing roughly, he groaned, struggling to move, before looking up to watch the large smoke cloud float into the air.

Pushing himself to his feet, he used a tree to balance himself. Darui stumbled along towards the sight of the explosion, looking for his comrades, "C! Samui!"

He heard coughing and quickly moved through the fallen trees and upturned ground to find Samui pulling her brother along with her. He was bleeding from his side and was muttering about the "hot explosion" – the blood loss clearly getting to him.

Quickly, he help Samui place her brother on the ground and started wrapping the wound – to stop the bleeding. Samui looked at him with panicked eyes, "We need C! Atsui isn't going to make it long without healing!"

Darui opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a voice, "*cough* I'm here… Just… Had to grab this demon child first."

Looking over, they saw C stumbling through the rubble with a restrained Kanoko over his shoulder. Dropping her carelessly on the ground next to Darui, he kneeled to heal Atsui's wound. Samui watched in worry as Darui moved him gaze to their captive, " _She's too dangerous… We should kill her now…_ "

C caught Darui's look and frowned, "Darui. The Raikage was firm in his orders. We are to bring her back alive."

Darui's eyes didn't move from Kanoko's form.

"We should kill her!"

All eyes shot up at towards the voice of their last teammate. Karai sluggishly pushed one foot in front of the other. There was a large piece of tree sticking out of his shoulder and his whole front was scarred with the fire of the explosion.

"Karai!" C yelled, getting up and running towards him.

Karai fell just as C got to him. As C started to work on his injuries, Karai's fist tightened around C's vest and spoke, "…Kill her… Avenge… Me…"

Karai's head fell to the side, his last breath escaping.

All of them were silent – taking the loss of their comrade hard.

C was the first to move – getting up to continue healing Atsui. As he worked silently on his wound, Samui looked over at her team leader, Darui, "What do we do?" She asked.

Darui exhaled with sorrow as his eyes traveled from Karai's body to Kanoko. C's face shot up toward Darui and gave him another hard look, "What was the point of all of this, if you're just going to kill her?!"

Samui quickly argued back, "To prevent the Leaf from raising a ninja to sannin level! You saw what she did just now – and she's twelve!"

C gritted his teeth, "The Raikage's instructions were clear!"

"Sometimes things happen!" Samui shouted back.

"Enough!" Darui spoke firmly. Both of them look up at him as he half lidded eyes gazed at Kanoko. Taking a moment to think, he spoke seriously, "She is dangerous." C opened his mouth to argue, but Darui just continued, "But we have our orders and her abilities would aid the Cloud immensely. After all, there has yet to be a ninja we have not been able to convert."

Darui paused to look up at the sky before turning to C, "Were you convincing?"

C nodded, "Yes, I believe so. We have a few hours at most before her father can no longer prevent the Hokage from sending out hunter nin to eliminate her."

Darui nodded, "And Atsui's injuries?"

C took a moment to think, "Give me twenty minutes – maybe a half an hour."

Darui clicked his teeth, "…Work fast. We can't stick around here." Turning to Samui, he spoke, "Understand… I feel the same was as you, and I am sorry, but we must act as the boss commands. He is always looking out for us and our village's best interest. You know he wouldn't have asked this of us if wasn't important."

Samui inhaled a large amount of air before turning her eyes to her brother with a sad expression. Exhaling, she nodded, "You're right. I will do whatever it takes to see this mission through – for the sake of the village."

Darui smiled slightly and nodded in thanks. Turning back to Kanoko's still form, he thought, " _I want to blame you for my comrade's death, but I can't help but pity you at the same time… I am truly sorry, but you_ _ **will**_ _become the traitor you fear becoming._ "

Looking back up at the sky, Darui's expression turned serious, " _I will use all my power to make sure it happens._ "

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 **Authors Note:**

 **Thank you all for the awesome and wonderful reviews! To those of you that put in requests or thoughts, please know that I am taking them all under careful consideration! Of course, I can't tell you what I plan to do, as it would ruin the mystery, but I more than welcome thoughts and requests!**

 **As I write this arch and start working on the beginning of Shippuden, I really need help answering a question that has been wracking my brain (and driving me crazy).**

 **First, I want to say that my question does not suggest any pairings, I am just trying to understand the Naruto canon better.**

 **Why does Sakura like Sasuke? Did he save her or something and I missed it? I get as a little girl, attraction plays a BIG part in your first few romances, but when you grow up... I don't know, it just doesn't make sense to me and I need help understanding it.**

 **I honestly was surprised in The Last: Naruto the Movie. I always assumed Naruto would get the girl of his choice, but was happy to see Hinata get the guy of her choice.**

 **Thank you for the amazing reviews and continuing to read Second Time's the Charm!**


	30. Chapter 28

"Tsunade-sama!" "Lady Tsunade!" Torune and Shizune shouted at the same time, while running into the office.

Tsunade froze, a sake bottle sitting suspiciously on her desk with a cup held near her lips. She eyed them like a child with its hand in the cookie jar before slowly moving the sake bottle out of sight.

Sitting the cup down, she folder her hands on the desk and spoke to them as if nothing happened, "Yes?"

Shizune squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled at her hair while muttering to lowly, "Shizune… Let it go… You have more important things to discuss…"

Torune quickly stepped forward, "Tsunade-sama, I have a report of a child matching Nara Kanoko's description attempting to enter the kinjutsu scroll vault. The patrol shinobi were able to scare her off, but…"

Shizune looked at Torune with wide eyes before turning back to Tsunade and speaking quickly, "I also have a report of Kanoko entering the archives and leaving with a variety of scrolls!"

Tsunade tilted her head while raising an eyebrow, "Nara Kanoko? OUR Nara Kanoko?"

Torune and Shizune turned to each other before turning back to their Hokage and nodding. Suddenly the doors slammed open and in rushed Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Hokage-sama! Nara Kanoko just raced out of the village with a large bag on her back!" Kotetsu yelled.

Running forward, Izumo moved in front of the Hokage's desk, "And as she passed – without talking to us – she dropped this!" Izumo placed a scroll on Tsunade's desk.

Tentatively, she picked it up before unsealing it. Her eyes traveled over the text before speaking out loud, "C-ranked mission reports from… Ten years ago?"

The doors slammed open again to reveal three angry looking elders. Tsunade sighed dramatically as Koharu, Homura, and Danzo approached her desk – moving the other ninja out of the way with a pointed look.

Koharu was the first to speak, "We are hearing reports from all parts of the village about one of your ninja wreaking havoc!"

Homura quickly joined in, "Tsunade, what in the world is going on?! In a time like this, with the Village Hidden in the Waterfall at our border, threatening war, you must act quickly and swiftly!"

Tsunade slammed her hand on the desk as Danzo opened his mouth to speak up as well. He narrowed his eyes at her interruption as Tsunade spoke, "Enough! I will act how I choose and when I choose!"

Turning to Torune, Tsunade spat out an order, "Bring me Nara Shikaku – no wait, he's still in the hospital…" Tsunade rubbed her forehead, " _I really need to learn how to control my temper…_ " Taking a moment to think she revised her order, "Bring me Nara Shikamaru!"

Torune nodded and teleported out of the area.

Danzo cut in, not happy with Tsunade's treatment towards him, "We demand an explanation Tsunade. As Homura pointed out, this is a critical time and these _incidents_ around the village were quite public – we need answers to give to our people."

Tsunade scoffed, "Because you're such a people person."

Koharu quickly chastised her, "Tsunade, do not make light of the situation. We only act in the interest of the village and your dismissal of the events is frightening. I heard this Nara even attempted to break into the vault of kinjutsu scrolls!"

Homura nodded to his old teammate, "I heard that as well. We need to send hunter nin out to bring her back and interrogate her."

Tsunade started to respond, but was distracted by Torune entering the room with Shikamaru in tow. Walking into the room with an alert expression – recognizing the village elders right away – Shikamaru regarded Tsunade with a slight bow, "Hokage-sama, you summoned me?"

Tsunade nodded with a serious expression and a frown on her face. Waving him forward, she asked, "Shikamaru, tell me. Why would your sister break into the vault of kinjutsu scrolls?"

Shikamaru's eyes went wide at the blunt and shocking statement. He stuttered, "W-what…?!" He gulped as everyone's gaze hardened on him, "I… She wouldn't need to…"

Tsunade's eyebrows rose, "Wouldn't need to?" She took a moment to toss that thought around her head before barking out a low laugh, "…I can't help but agree."

"Tsunade!" Koharu yelled at her, "In what world is that an acceptable answer?!" Turning to Shikamaru she started interrogating him, "Your sister has committed heinous actions towards the Leaf village! Has she showed signs of defiance to her superiors? Has she been unhappy? How does she interact with her peers?"

Shikamaru was taken aback by the elder's questions, but answered her, "Never. No. And well."

Homura crossed his arms, "Do not act smart with us boy. The actions your sister has taken could be considered as acts of treason. Hunter nins should be sent out immediately to collect her – dead or alive."

Shikamaru's heart stopped before his eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath in as his teeth gritting and his fists tightening. He felt a strong urge to act violently and was having difficulty controlling himself.

Thankfully Tsunade interrupted with a loud scoff and spat angrily, "We will do no such thing until I have more information." Her eyes narrowed at the elders, " **Do I make myself clear**?"

Surprisingly, Danzo stepped in to support Tsunade, "I agree. More information is need before moving forward too aggressively." He turned to his peers, "Clearly, there is more going on here than a newly promoted chunin causing uproar. However…" Danzo turned his firm gaze on Tsunade, "We need to be kept informed before the rest of the village responds in the same manner Koharu and Homura have."

The Fifth Hokage gave Danzo a bland look while she considered his words. After a few moments, she nodded to Danzo before gesturing the three of them were no longer _needed_ in the Hokage's office.

Koharu and Homura huffed before leaving with Danzo.

Tsunade turned back to Shikamaru. She gazed at him in thought. Tsunade saw how he tensed early and wondered if he would go so far to attack Homura. It didn't seem very Nara-like, but the Nara clan was throwing her all sorts of curve balls these days – what's one more?

Sighing she caught Shikamaru's attention, "Shikamaru. I'm going to be frank with you – if you promise to be truthful with me. Can you do that?"

Nodding, Shikamaru spoke, "I promise to be truthful, but before you ask I want you to know that Kanoko would never – and I mean **never** – betray Konoha."

"What if your life was on the line? Or your father's? Mother's? What then?" Tsunade asked, eyes locked on Shikamaru.

Shikamaru thought for a moment before answering Tsunade with a steady look, "It doesn't even make sense. She was on patrol duty! How can she be in the village? Her patrol duty team would have notified you of her absence long ago."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, "…You didn't answer my question, Shikamaru."

Exhaling, Shikamaru placed a hand on his temple – rubbing it while speaking lowly, "I don't know, ok? Part of me hopes she would pick us, her family, but the realistic part of me knows the truth: Her loyalty is to the village first and foremost."

"And you're not just saying this because of the circumstances?" Tsunade stopped Shikamaru as he opened his mouth, "I want to remind you that you are speaking to your Hokage and lying to me now will not be dealt with lightly."

Shikamaru nodded, "Kanoko would not betray the Village Hidden in the Leaves – even for her family."

Tsunade stared at Shikamaru long and hard. She stood up to look out the window with her arms crossed. Her gaze firmly on the scene below she spoke to Shikamaru, "…The last report I received placed her leaving the village. Pull together a team of only those you trust and go after her."

Shikamaru's eyes widened before stuttering out, "W-what about the village elders?"

Tsunade turned around, "Let me concern myself with the old geezers. Your mission is to bring Nara Kanoko back for questioning, ASAP."

Shikamaru nodded, "Only those I trust huh?" He paused, "The jounin sensei, Shino, and Torune – are any of them available?"

Tsunade shook her head, "No. All four of them are assigned to the different parts of the perimeter and Shino is out of the country – juggling several missions." Tsunade looked over at the door, "And I need Torune here." She smirked at the Nara, "But… There is one ninja would I recommend."

Shikamaru's shoulders dropped, not liking where she was going with this.

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Shikamaru closed the door the Hokage's office and turned to race down the hall when he heard a voice.

"Nara Shikamaru."

Shikamaru turned around towards the voice and raised an eyebrow.

He looked… Familiar.

The man was standing straight, showing off his height. Shikamaru didn't know his exact height, but he seemed taller than his own father. The man had a light tan and a black goatee with highlights of silver in them. The goatee was thin and a few inches longer than the one his father wore.

His hair style, also black with strands of silver in it, and overall facial features looked so similar to his father, so Shikamaru guessed he had to be a Nara. The thought left him confused, though. Shikamaru thought he already met all of the Nara clansmen – especially the elders.

The man's eyes were sharp and wore a firm frown as he approached the young Nara.

Shikamaru bowed to the elder before speaking, "I apologize. I have just been assigned a time sensitive mission. I must leave immediately." And with that, Shikamaru turned to race off again.

"…To save your sister, Nara Kanoko." He spoke in a deep and firm tone.

Tensing, Shikamaru turned back around, eyeing the elder with caution.

The man spoke again, once he had Shikamaru's attention, "…You may have already hypothesized that more is going on than what is most obvious, but there is much you fail to understand."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. Squaring off, he gave the elder an unimpressed look, "And that would be?"

The man snorted, frowning even further, "…You are just like your father. How can I possibly begin to explain to you what you do not know, when you can't even ask a question properly?"

Shikamaru's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. He took a moment to think before rephrasing his question, "What do I fail to understand?"

"Much." Was the elder's reply.

Shikamaru's teeth gritted. Turning around he mutter, "I don't have time for this."

"You should make time. Your sister's peace depends on it." The man called after Shikamaru.

Shikamaru stilled completely.

… _ **Kanoko spoke lowly, "Is that why I am here, because I can't find peace?...**_

Turning around slowly, Shikamaru asked in a low voice, "…Why would you use that word?"

The elder's eyebrow arched, his face blank, "To which word are you referring to?"

Shikamaru regarded him carefully, " _…There's something very unnerving about this man._ " He gave the elder a long and hard look while weighting the costs and possible benefits in his head. The man waited patiently for Shikamaru to come to him on Shikamaru's own terms. After a good amount of time, Shikamaru spoke carefully, "What are you offering?"

One of the elder's eyebrows rose, "I offer you insight and wisdom in this trial to come."

"And the cost?" Shikamaru quickly followed up.

The man was silent as he stepped forward. Once he was right in front of Shikamaru he spoke lowly, "I simply wish to help my granddaughter from the darkness this village holds and to prevent my grandson from offering his life in exchange for hers."

Shikamaru's eyebrows shot straight up before he quickly schooled his facial features, "…My grandfather is a farmer near the edge of the Land of Fire."

The man closed his eyes before opening them up again, "A few years ago, a village attempted to kidnap a Hyuuga child from her clan home. They succeeded in acquiring the child, but did not leave the complex alive. The enemy village sought revenge against the father of the child – who stole their shinobi's life." The man paused to frown, "The ending is not what is important. The true question is: How did a foreign, enemy ninja break into a clan's home when the clan's special ability is in seeing all?"

Grumbling internally, Shikamaru spoke his annoyance, "…Clearly, it was an inside job. Someone let him in."

The elder nodded, "Then begs the question: Who would betray their clan so?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "…You're assuming the inside man, or woman, was a clan member."

The tall man smirked. He turned and moved passed Shikamaru, who stared at him in confusion. As he walked away, Shikamaru called after him in an annoyed voice, "How is that supposed to help me?"

Not stopping or turning around, the elder simply answered with, "The village in question was the Village Hidden in the Clouds." And with that, the man turned the corner and vanished, out of sight.

Shikamaru's narrowed eyes stayed glued to the spot the elder held before disappearing. Shaking his head with a low grumble, Shikamaru bolted out of the Hokage's tower and towards the apartment complexes – starting on a mission he wouldn't soon forget.

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" _Here's to hoping he's home…_ " Shikamaru thought before banging on the door.

"I'm coming! I'm coming…"

Shikamaru heard loud footsteps before the door swung open to reveal Konoha's number one knucklehead ninja. Naruto blinked, gazing curiously a serious looking Shikamaru.

Slouching a bit and his hands in his pockets, Shikamaru told Naruto plainly, "We have a mission. I'll tell you on the way."

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"WHAT?! And they think Kanoko's some kind of traitor?!" Naruto yelled, eyes wide as they dropped down from a roof and landed next to a house.

"I don't think the Hokage's convince that Kanoko's a traitor, but…" Shikamaru said, strolling up quickly to the house and banging on the door, "CHOJI! I need your help! It's my sister!"

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed, "Choji? We're on a mission to bring back Kanoko from doing who knows what, and your second choice is to grab Choji?!"

Shikamaru sluggishly glared at Naruto, "Look. We don't know what we're facing, and we're limited on who we can bring. I can't think of anyone else, beside my sister, I want watching my back." Shikamaru banged on the door again as he continued, "Choji and I are on the same genin squad, and on a brute force level, is the strongest of the genin."

The sliding door slammed open. On the other side was a panting Choji, "Sorry, tried to get ready as fast as possible. What's going on Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru smiled in relief to see his friend, "I'll explain on the way. We need to find Sasuke."

"Well it's your lucky day then!"

The three boys turned around to see the cocky grin of one Inuzuka Kiba. Just a few feet from him, with his hands in his pockets looking bored was Uchiha Sasuke.

Kiba crossed his arms and with a fanged grin, he spoke, "Spill. What do you need old duck butt for?"

Sasuke glared at Kiba, "Call me that one more time and everyone's going to have a funny name to call you that describes your face."

Naruto snickered, "Too late."

"Watch it, mustard hair!" Kiba growled back.

Naruto raised an eyebrow with a smirk, "Really? Mustard hair? That's the best you got?"

Kiba opened his mouth to retort when Shikamaru silenced them all with a deep shout, "Enough! We have a mission – one that is time sensitive and may cost me my sister's life! So you all can just shut up and act like real ninjas or I'm leaving you here!"

Everyone went silent, staring bewildered at Shikamaru, who was frowning angrily at them. Naruto was the first to speak, "…Sorry Shikamaru."

Sighing his anger away, he shook his head, "We don't have time to look for anyone else. We need to head out. Hopefully we will run into someone on our way out."

They all nodded, following after Shikamaru and towards the village gates.

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Sakura smiled as she walked through town, holding a book in her arms. Closing her eyes to breath in the warm air she thought of her former classmates and how much they all have changed. She giggled to herself thinking about the day they were assigned to their genin teams. Having Naruto, the school's biggest loser, and Kanoko, who she will freely admit being terrified of, as teammates was the worst fate possible – or so she thought at the time.

Kanoko and Naruto… It was weird how completely different they were.

Naruto couldn't sit still, was either late or absent, scored poorly on all the tests and was a "in your face" kind of person. He was also funny, outgoing, and loved being around people. And then there was his "thing" with Sasuke.

Sakura grumbled to herself, thinking about all the fights Naruto challenged Sasuke to, only to get beaten time after time. After each defeat, Naruto would just get angrier, train harder, before heading straight for Sasuke for a rematch.

Then there was Kanoko. Perfect student: Never a bad grade, top of the class, never late, never absent, followed the rules to a T, and the model of elegance in everything she did. She was also cold, distant, mean at times, and saw the whole class as beneath her.

Sakura remembered the first time they had met and the memory Kanoko's dark aura still sends shivers down Sakura's back.

When it came to Sasuke, Kanoko was the complete opposite of Naruto. _Sasuke_ was the one that sought Kanoko out for duel after duel. He never once got the upper hand – much like Naruto to him – and as a result, he would train harder, study longer and head out to find Kanoko for a rematch.

The annoyance in Kanoko's face and voice every time Sasuke gave her the "face me now" look angered his fan club immensely. How _dare_ she act so cold and annoyed to the great Uchiha Sasuke?

But they all saw how effortlessly Kanoko defeated Sasuke, and as a result, not a single one of them were brave enough to insult Kanoko to her face.

Sakura sometimes wondered if her placement on Team 7 was a mistake…

Naruto, Sasuke, and Kanoko…

They would have made an amazing team.

It might be a bit late in the game, but Sakura was really starting to see how great and strong Naruto was. He didn't have book smarts like her, or the logical genius of Shikamaru, but he had this weird, unpredictable street smarts that kept him and those around him alive.

Naruto didn't have an elegant fighting style like Hinata or even a devastating one like Choji, but he put his all into each punch and kick – going pasts his limits more times than not.

And Naruto's knowledge of ninjutsu wasn't on the same level as Sasuke or Kanoko, but he effortlessly preformed advance, jounin level jutsus like the Shadow Clone jutsu and that new "Rasengan" or whatever he called it.

Sakura frowned, tugging her book close to her chest.

With Naruto's determined and unpredictable nature, Sasuke's quick reflexes, vast abilities and Sharingan, and Kanoko's immense knowledge of the ninja arts, calculating mind, and wisdom… Team 7 could have been the most powerful ninja team since the sannin.

She had to be some sort of mistake. Why would they put a clanless ninja on a team destined for greatness?

Sakura sighed sadly, walking slowly through town – her good mood ruined. She stared at the ground as she walked, " _I wouldn't even be the Hokage's student without Kanoko…_ " Sakura pulled the book away from her chest to look at it, " _She's done so much for me. Teaching my fire and healing jutsu, helping me train up my basic skills, and now, she's helping me learn more about the clans of Konoha._ "

Turning a corner, Sakura paused, looking blankly forward, " _Why does she help me so much anyways? Does she feel obligated because were teammates? Or so I don't slow her and Naruto down?_ " Sakura scoffed at herself, " _It's probably that…_ "

Sakura shook her head roughly, " _No! I can't think like that! We made a pact together, to always be there for each other!_ " Sakura smiled, thinking about Naruto's words just before the start of the Chunin Exams – when Kanoko was fretting over them like a mother hen (though Sakura will deny calling Kanoko a mother hen **to her grave** ).

 _ **Don't worry Kanoko! Team 7's in this together! Nothing's going to stand in our way! Believe it!**_

And they remained true to that statement through the Chunin Exams and after. The moment Kanoko heard Naruto was in danger, she raced out without a thought, and all while knowing the wrath she would face from her family when she got back.

Sakura giggled remembering how Kanoko's father had a jounin level ninja following her every move for a week before she started aiming kunai at their crouch. Sakura had yet to meet a ninja that could hide their presence from Kanoko…

Sakura's brow wrinkled as she watched Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba, and Sasuke race towards the entrance of the village. Curious, she took off after them, only to find them stopped in front of Neji and Lee.

"…And now the village elders think Kanoko's a traitor, so we have to find her and bring her back so she can explain to them how she would never, in a million years, betray the Leaf!" Sakura heard Naruto shout, waving his arms around as he spoke.

"Bring her back? Where's Kanoko?" Sakura asked, making the group back at her in surprise.

Shikamaru cut in with a serious expression before Naruto could answer, "She left the village, heading north, around fifteen minutes ago."

Neji looked at Lee before nodding. Turning back to Shikamaru he spoke, "We will join you. Kanoko's a fellow Leaf comrade and I, too, don't believe she would betray the Leaf village."

Lee nodded vigorously, "Kanoko told us herself that her purpose, her ninja way, was to protect the village and those precious to her – even if it costs her, her life! I refuse to believe she would act this way without a solid reason!"

Shikamaru nodded, "Thank you." Looking up at the sky, he clicked his teeth, "But we need to move, once we're at the gate, I'll tell you the plan."

Everyone nodded, taking off at a ground breaking speed for the gate. Sakura frowned, following after them, " _If they think they can just leave me out, they have another thing coming!_ "

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The gates leading to the Leaf village opened slowly, Izumo and Kotetsu eyeing the genin and Shikamaru carefully.

Once it opened fully, Naruto jumped ahead, "ALRIGHT! Let's get going everybody! Follow me!"

When no one answered, Naruto looked back with a confused look. They were all giving him dull looks. Sighing, Shikamaru before muttering into his palm, "I recommend you bring Uzumaki Naruto… No, he's not a complete knucklehead… It'll be just fine…" Shikamaru glared at Naruto, "That's the last time I listen one of Tsunade's recommendations…"

Naruto gave Shikamaru an annoyed look, "And you really think you're the best person to run this operation? You don't seem very reliable to me." Naruto finished by crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.

"Idiot." Was the one word response from Sasuke. Neji grunted in agreement.

"What's with you acting like you're the leader all of a sudden?" Kiba asked, also annoyed, "I mean, taking orders from someone as lazy as Shikamaru doesn't exactly thrill me either, but still. This is his _precious_ sister were talking about here."

Shikamaru's eye twitched at Kiba's comment as Choji spoke up, "But none of you get to decide who the leader here is because Shikamaru is the only one of us that is a chunin. That means the elders of the village clearly believe he's got what it takes to call the shots on this one."

Neji turned to Shikamaru, understanding the time sensitivity of the mission, "If that's the case, then perhaps you should start coming up with some sort of a plan." Neji paused, "We don't know where Kanoko's going, or if she's meeting up with anyone. …And it would be irresponsible to assume that this has nothing to do with the Village Hidden in the Waterfall mobilizing near our border."

Shikamaru eyed Neji while thinking of his _grandfather's_ story concerning the Cloud village, " _This all could be involved in something bigger and we have no intel on the situation._ "

Shikamaru shoved his hands in his vest pockets and turned towards the group, "Well, for starters, we don't even know if the person matching Kanoko's description is even her. She was assigned to patrol duty for the day and her team never reported her absence. It's entirely possible that we are walking into a trap, laid by the enemy."

Shikamaru paused before continuing, "I'm hoping that we find Kanoko casually completing her patrol duty, but it's possible that this really is a pursuit and capture mission, which means the enemy, or Kanoko, is already at an advantage." His tone getting firmer, he continued, "That said, I'm arranging us in a deployment formation that can respond to any assault by the enemy. If any of you don't follow my exact orders… **We're all going to die**."

Kiba gulped while the rest held serious composures.

"Ok, we are going to be in a "t" formation. As we all know, the most important position is the spear head." Shikamaru started before looking to Kiba, "Kiba. That's going to be you."

Kiba stared shocked at Shikamaru as he spoke, "You're the most familiar with the forest area surrounding the Leaf village and with that sensitive nose of yours, you'll be able to track Kanoko's scent while sniffing out any booby traps she may have left for us."

Shikamaru looked to Sasuke and Lee, "Second in line is going to be yours truly, platoon leader. From that position, I'll be able to communicate with the rest of the team through silent hand signals. On either side of me will be Sasuke and Lee."

Sasuke and Lee looked towards Shikamaru as he continued, "The two of you are the fastest when it comes to reflexes and overall speed. You're the first line of protection against enemies by reacting quickly and defending the formation."

Both of them nodded, understanding their roles.

Shikamaru looked to Naruto, he stared again, "In the middle, behind me, will be Naruto. The middle of the line is the perfect location for you because of your Multi Shadow Clone jutsu. From there, you can help either the front or back with numbers if we are attacked. You're the cornerstone."

Shikamaru smirked at his best friend and teammate, "Behind Naruto is Choji. Choji, you might not have any speed, but your striking power is the greatest of the platoon members. A combination of Sasuke, Lee, Kiba, Naruto and I will launch a surprise attack – then you will swoop in and finish them off."

Looking over at Neji, Shikamaru continued, "Last is Neji, on the end. Your position is most difficult: Rear lookout. I want you to use your Byakugan to constantly scan ahead for weakness in our ranks."

Shikamaru leaned back slightly with his hands in his vest pockets, "Got it?"

Sakura raised her hand, "Wait! You didn't give me an assignment!"

Everyone was silent, leaving Shikamaru to explain why he left her out. Scratching the back of his head, Shikamaru sighed, "Look… It's not that I have any against you or anything, but… As I said before, we don't exactly know what we're getting into."

Sakura nodded with a determined look, "Yeah. I heard you the first time. I'm not an idiot, I understand the risks and what is at stake."

Shikamaru sighed louder, "We're going to be moving quickly and hitting hard."

Naruto cut in, giving Sakura a nervous smile, "You're great Sakura-chan, but… Uhh…"

"But what?" Sakura asked with an angry look and her arms crossed.

"You'll slow us down." Came the blunt answer from Hyuuga Neji.

Sakura's head jerked towards Shikamaru, who shrugged, agreeing with Neji. Sakura's eyes widened before she turned back to Naruto, "What about… Team 7 together, watching each other's backs – always…"

Naruto nodded, exclaiming, "We do have each other's backs! Always! That's why we're going after Kanoko!"

Sakura gave him a sad look, "But you don't think I can help… Help save my own teammate!" Her fists tightened as she shook slightly. When no one told her otherwise, she turned and started walking away, feeling like crying.

 _ **Kanoko took a deep breath and said, "It doesn't matter what you do, you may live and die as you like. However, no matter what road you end up taking, remember to protect the people that are precious to you."**_

Sakura stopped, hearing Kanoko's words in her head from when they first made genin and became teammates. Turning around, Sakura stomped over with a scowl and grabbed Shikamaru by the collar.

His eyes went wide as he was jerked forward and met with burning green eyes. Snarling Sakura yelled, "You may be her brother, but you're not the only willing to do whatever it takes to save Kanoko! Kanoko is my teammate, my friend, and in many ways, a mentor to me! If you think for **one second** that I'm not going to fight harder than any of you **boys** when it comes to protecting those important to me, I'll show you how wrong you are by introducing my fist to your face!"

Naruto went pale behind Sakura and shook his head aggressively at Shikamaru, "You don't want that, trust me! Take my word for it!"

Lee, on the other hand, had hearts in his eyes before shouting with a flame burning behind him, "The burning fire of youth! Sakura, as radiant as always, you burn so brightly with passion and commitment!" Tears started flowing from his eyes, "You represent such a spectacular example! I will put my heart and soul into this mission to attempt to reach your level of compassion and loyalty!"

Shikamaru's eye twitched, but sweat-dropped nervously when Sakura's burning eyes did not leave his face. Sighing loudly, he mumbled, "We've wasted too much time already…" Suddenly, he looked at Sakura coldly, "I don't have the luxury to sit here at tell you exactly why you're not suited for this mission, so I'm going to let you join – positioned behind Choji."

Dusting himself off after pushing Sakura off, he looked down at her with dangerous look, "But if your actions cost me my sister…" He turned to Naruto and thought, " _You better hope Naruto is still alive to save you_."

Sakura nodded, "Kanoko's saved us time and time again. It's time we return the favor."

Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about the mark from Orochimaru. Kiba looked at Sasuke with concerned eyes. Lee looked at Sakura while also thinking about his match with Kanoko. Neji thought about the conversation between him and Kanoko before his match with Naruto. Choji simply looked at Shikamaru with a determined nod.

Sakura and Naruto looked at one another. The mission in the Land of Waves, the Chunin Exams, the assault on Suna, and recently, the mission to bring Tsunade back to the village – Kanoko was constantly helping them.

It was time to return the favor.

Shikamaru closed his eyes before opening them up sluggishly with a smirk, "I couldn't agree more." He turned towards the group, "I know Kanoko has never been all that well liked growing up, and that's a flaw of hers she's carried from birth. I never thought I see another side to her…" He looked at Naruto and Sakura, "…Until she joined Team 7."

Smirking to himself, Shikamaru continued, "But there is one thing, despite her social flaws, that she has ingrained in each and every one of us: Something she calls the Will of Fire. To put your life on your line for a comrade, for our village, for those important to you – it's the way of our village."

Shikamaru turned serious again, "I know I usually seem like a pretty lazy guy… But not today. Because now I'm responsible for your lives too."

Kiba was the first to speak with a smirk, "Wow. I never thought I'd see Shikamaru acting like a chunin." Choji and Sakura grinned at Shikamaru while Sasuke and Naruto smirked.

Turning around towards the woods, Shikamaru called to the group, "Let's move out!"

And just like that, all eight Leaf ninja raced off into the Land of Fire, searching for their friend and comrade – with no idea the trials ahead of them.

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Torune walked carefully through the hospital, attempting to go unnoticed. With grace and swiftness, he passed a group of nurses and slid through the door to a hospital room.

Once inside, Torune took a look at the room's inhabitants. On the bed with a bandage around his head was Nara Shikaku. The clan head was humming at the Sudoku book in front of him, making small marks in it every few seconds.

Looking up to see Torune enter his room, Shikaku smirked, "Come to offer apologies on behalf of the Hokage?" Chuckling to himself, Shikaku continued, "From what Shizune was telling me as she patched me up, the Hokage was mortified at herself after throwing me through a wall, the way she did." Shikaku shook his head, "You would think after all this time, she would know her own strength."

Torune shook his head lightly.

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "No? Well, what can I do for you then?" Smirking, he continued, "I doubt you came here just to view my ugly mug."

Exhaling, Torune schooled his features, "Nara Kanoko, or someone matching her description, has taken actions the village elders believe to be acts of treason."

Slowly, Shikaku put down his book and his face turned serious, "What acts?"

"Stealing from the archives, attempting to breach the vault of kinjutsu, numerous thefts of valuable objects throughout the village… Just to name a few." Torune explained calmly.

Shikaku's eyes turned cold, "And they honestly believe a _twelve year old chunin_ did all of this?"

Torune nodded, "…Is it truly that big of a stretch? Naruto stole the scroll of forbidden jutsus before graduating the academy and Mizuki was only a chunin when he betrayed the village." Torune paused to before speaking lightly, "And then there's Uchiha Itachi…"

Shikaku slammed a hand down on the stand next to the bed as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Standing up tall, he narrowed his eyes at Torune and gruffly told him, "My daughter would _never_ betray the Leaf village. Anyone who believes differently is a fool."

Torune nodded, flinching slightly at Shikaku's thick aura flooding the room, "…I have not known Kanoko long, but…" Torune thought back to his mission to kill Jiraiya, "…She would willingly offer her life for a comrade." He turned to Shikaku with confidence, "… And I have learned through experience that things are not always as they seem. Whether it was her that committed the acts in question or not, I believe she is in danger and I wish to help her." Torune got quitter, "…If only to repay her for saving my brother."

Shikaku was silent as he analyzed the shinobi before him. After a few moments, Shikaku exhaled calmly, "How long ago was this report made to the Hokage?"

"Approximately forty-five minutes ago." Torune looked down, ashamed, "I apologize for not contacting you sooner. I was unable to get away any earlier."

Shikaku nodded before grabbing his bag of clothes, "Thank you for informing me when no one else would. I will let you know if I require anything of you."

Torune nodded before disappearing out of the room.

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Akamaru whined lowly as they jumped through the trees. Shikamaru turned his head to Kiba, "What is it?"

Kiba's eyes were glued ahead while he answered solemnly, "Blood. And lots of it."

Sasuke's eyes shifted to Shikamaru as the chunin took a moment to think before speaking, "…Can you tell us anything else?"

Kiba nodded to his platoon leader, "Smoke from an explosion, but it's pretty faint."

Naruto called to Shikamaru, "Kanoko has that seal-thing, where she blows things up."

Shikamaru nodded, " _…I haven't felt anything… I can only hope that is a good thing..._ "

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 _It was early in the morning. The sun was peaking over the mountains and the air had a chill to it. A light fog had rolled in, but was clearing with the bright rays of the sun._

 _Tobirama moved carefully through the forest. The grass was frozen from the chill of the air and crackled lightly under his small feet. Stopping, Tobirama looked up at the trees, scanning the area carefully. Even at his young age of seven, his sensing abilities were great – something even his father praised him for._

 _He looked ahead again and started moving slowly._

 _*crack*_

 _Tobirama's head whipped around, just in time to see a shadow dance out of sight. Quickly, he followed the shadow – keeping a good distance in case he was being lead into a trap._

" _Gyah!" A voice shouted, before sounds of tumbling followed._

 _Tobirama tensed, taking another route around before approaching the whimpering being. Below him, on the ground, struggling to get out of a wire trap left by an unknown shinobi, was a small girl – barely older than himself._

 _He gave her a dull look as he tilted his head, trying to identify her. Tobirama couldn't place her face, meaning he had never faced her in battle, but there were noticeable features about her that gave her identity away._

" _For an Uzumaki… You're not very smart." Tobirama taunted her with an emotionless voice._

 _The girl stopped struggling for a moment before reaching a hand out aggressively and yelling, "WHY YOU! I'LL SHOW YOU!" She struggled even more against her restraints, her red hair whipping around in fury, "ONCE I GET OUT OF HERE…!"_

 _Tobirama watched with a bland expression as she pulled against the wire, cutting into her skin and causing her to bleed. Tobirama raised an eyebrow. She wasn't even twitching at the pain – as if her determination was stronger than any suffering she was going through._

 _Tobirama looked away from the red head and towards his destination. The Uzumaki was still cussing storm at him and he was slightly looking forward to leaving her here to rot. She wasn't family and her clan was barely an ally. He owed her nothing and he wasn't one to collect favors._

 _With that in mind, he took off, ignoring her struggled cries and whimpers._

.

Kanoko slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurry as she spat up dirt. Coughing quietly, she looked around.

Kanoko eyed the leader, Darui, as he made his way to the two blonde males, "C, how's Atsui?"

C stood slowly, pulling Atsui to his feet – who was grinning at Darui. Atsui saluted his leader with a large grin, "I'm all good to go – hot and ready for anything the Leaf throw at us!"

C shook his head, giving Atsui a hard look, "I may have healed your wound, but you are weak from the blood loss and the chakra use. I know you won't listen to me, but I'm going to say it anyways in the hopes some of your sister's intelligence will rub off on you: Don't act recklessly!"

Samui sighed, walking up next to her brother, "What am I going to do with you Atsui?"

Her brother grinned widely at her, pushing off from C and standing on his own.

Darui turned from his team and walked over to Kanoko, who could do nothing but move her eyes to glare at him. Sighing, he scratched the back of his head with dull eyes focused on Kanoko, "...We need to move…"

The group looked over to their leader and nodded. C quickly came over and picked up Kanoko, throwing her over his shoulder.

" _Great. Just great. Now I get to stare at this guy's ass while I come up with a plan of escape…_ " Kanoko thought.

After getting her situated, C turned to Darui before stilling suddenly.

"What is it?" Darui asked calmly, looking indifferent, but worry quickly building underneath.

C's head jerked up, "We need to move! There's a group of eight approaching!"

The group took off without another word, jumping quickly from tree to tree. As they weaved rapidly through the trees, Samui turned to C with a serious look, "I thought you said we would have more time!"

C hissed slightly, about to reply when Darui cut in, "C, can you tell us anything about the group stalking us?"

Pausing for a moment, C nodded, "…Most of them don't have powerful chakra signature and only one is doing an impressive job at concealing their chakra."

"Genin?" Atsui asked, "Ha! We should just turn around and attack them! A bunch of genin are no match for us!" He finished by swinging out his sword – preparing for battle.

Darui looked ahead while thinking about Atsui's statement, " _If they are genin… It would be to our benefit to eliminate them now… If they continue to hold their pace with us, the risk of getting caught by other Leaf shinobi in the area increases._ "

C interrupted Darui's thoughts, "If we stop now, we risk hunter nin or other shinobi sent by the Leaf village to catch us."

Darui nodded slowly, understanding his teammate. Closing his eyes, Darui stopped on a branch. The team turned back towards him with a questionable look. He raised his sluggish eyes and said, "Continue to the checkpoint. I will stay behind to deal with the genin."

Atsui whined loudly, "But I wanted to take out the little Leaf nin…"

Samui nodded, "You are the team leader, Darui. One of us should stay behind instead."

Darui shrugged, "I'm the best fighter against a large group of ninjas. Atsui's the next best option, but he's still weak from the Nara's explosion earlier." Darui turned and stuck his hands in his pockets, "Don't be so dramatic… I'll be fine… Honestly, the fight will likely be dull…"

C stood still, giving his friend a hard look before exhaling and closing his eyes. Opening back up, he nodded before turning to his two teammates, "Come on. We can't doddle here." And with that, he jumped away.

Atsui pouted, but followed C anyways, leaving Samui to stare at Darui's back. She stayed for a moment before speaking, "Before… I agreed with you to appease C and his blind loyalty, but I do not understand. How is this anything different from the disaster with the Hyuuga Clan? How can we follow orders that will lead our people to war with the Leaf?"

Darui sighed heavily, turning his head slightly to Samui, he gave her an eyes half lidded look, "We won't go to war… C said–"

"I know what C said." Samui interrupted him, "But the Leaf isn't like the Stone – they aren't idiots. Whether they believe the Nara betrayed her village or not… This close to the Hyuuga incident… They will suspect foul play – and you know there are those among the Leaf that would love nothing more than another war."

Darui wouldn't look Samui in the eye for a few moments. After a long bout of silence, he turned to face her, "…We are already in too deep to stop now."

Samui frowned, shaking her head in disgust, "That's a really poor excuse – something I believed better of you." Arms at her sides, she turned her cold gaze to her leader, "…But I will follow through in this mission – if nothing else, then for my brother's sake."

Darui nodded slightly in understanding before turning back around, waiting for the approaching force.

Before she left, Samui spoke quietly one last thing, "…Your mother would cry to see the man you've become."

Darui turned to respond, caught off guard by Samui's words, but when he turned, all he saw was the fluttering of leaves as they traveled to the ground.

" _ **Promise me… Promise me that you won't let it happen… Won't let what happen to me… Happen to another…**_ **"**

Darui froze, hearing _her_ words replay in his head.

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"What is a Cloud ninja doing in the Land of Fire, so close to the Leaf's village?" A voice spoke calmly behind him.

Darui shook his head, pulling himself from his thoughts before letting out a long and heavy breath of air. Slowly, Darui turned towards the young ninja with a bored look.

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Small black eyes met equally dark eyes.

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 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry for not updating last week! My family has the horrible habit of just showing up unannounced during the holidays… That and it's started to snow where I live and my computer is located in the part of my home that the heat is broken…**

 **My fingers are currently threatening to snap from the sheer cold…**

 **Anyways…**

 **Thank you all very much for your wonderful reviews! I was really surprised at the all the different types of reviews and was very excited to continue writing! This is just the beginning of Kanoko's/Tobirama's adventures, so please continue to let me know what you think about each chapter and where you see things going! All ideas are welcome!**

 **Last I wanted to say, "THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE 500+ FOLLOWERS! AND 400+ FAVS!"**

 **Thank you so much! All of you reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting Second Time's the Charm…** _ **you**_ _ **all**_ **are the reason why I continue to write with the best intentions of making this story enjoyable, but believable – to the best of my abilities.**

 **I will be purchasing a heater after posting this chapter and then I will start on the next, so tell me how I did here and give me your thoughts!**

 **Thank you all very much! :D**


	31. Chapter 29

_Shikaku stared dully at his four year old daughter._

 _She returned the gesture in tenfold – staring blankly at him, completely unimpressed._

 _They were both sitting at the kitchen table, silent and unmoving. Yoshino had taken her son out of the house, in an attempt to have a mother/son bonding day._

… _Shikaku knew better._

 _He knew this was Yoshino's way of convincing her son to be hardworking and motivated, while also forcing Kanoko and Shikaku to_ _ **bond**_ _._

 _A lot of good that idea was…_

 _The two of them had been staring the other down for the last two hours. Shikaku started sweating at the idea that his_ _ **four-year-old daughter**_ _was about to outlast him in patience, determination and pure laziness._

 _He just didn't know how much longer he would be able to just sit here and_ _ **stare**_ _._

 _Sighing internally, Shikaku thought about his strange child. People thought Shikamaru was the odd child for his slothful movements and defiant nature. Sure, Shikamaru wasn't a troublemaker like Minato's kid, but many were witness to the way he just rolled over and ignored his mother's orders._

 _When others observed Kanoko, they saw a well-mannered, respectful and quiet girl. Many mothers patted Yoshino on the back, telling her how blessed she was to have such a perfect little girl._

 _Even Inoichi whined to him that Shikaku had it made. Ino was starting to become quite the handful – demanding her father's attention constantly: Hugging him, talking to him, pulling him around, demanding he play dress up with her and pick flowers together._

 _It took_ _ **everything**_ _Shikaku had in him not to pull Inoichi's chair out from beneath him and watch him to fall flat on his ass._

 _The first time the doctors told him that he was going to have twins, he was worried. Two of them? Too much work. He'd love them, of course, but two boys? Two Nara boys?_

 _But then, he was told one of them was a girl._

 _A girl._

 _Naras don't have girls._

 _They do, but it was rare._

 _And here he was, about to have a girl. A daughter. A little girl who would need him to chase away the monsters under the bed. A little girl to pull his hair into braids as he reclined on the couch after a long and hard day at work. A little girl who would run to him with tears in her eyes because she scrapped her knee. A little girl who would giggle whenever he did something funny – and he would do something funny everyday to hear her giggle._

 _A little girl to cherish every moment with._

 _His little girl, who would demand his attention at every turn – and he would give it to her and spoil her rotten._

 _._

 _Kanoko, his little deer, turned out to be_ _ **nothing**_ _like other little girls._

 _Independent, cold, distant – these were the words used by her_ _ **own twin**_ _when describing her. You can only imagine how she treated her parents._

 _Yoshino, of course, loved Kanoko's independent nature. Every time Kanoko asserted herself and preformed a task without the aid of her parents, Yoshino would nod in pride and whisper to him, "You see that? That is the making of the next Hokage. My baby, the next Hokage!"_

 _And if Yoshino's words ever encouraged Kanoko's behavior, hell if he knew._

 _Kanoko rarely smiled._

 _And when she did, it was never aimed towards him._

 _It always struck him as strange. Kanoko guarded her brother – well, guarded is probably not the correct word. Watched over is a better phrase to describe Kanoko's relationship with her twin. She kept him away from dangerous items and situations while keeping a sharp eye on her surroundings, looking for possible threats._

 _What threats a four year old could be on the lookout for mystified him. A boogie monster perhaps?_

 _Then there was the way in which she treated him, when he was around Shikamaru. The look on Kanoko's face was blank and expressionless, but her eyes…_

 _Her eyes held a sharp and deadly look – as if she was a doe, Shikamaru was her fawn, and Shikaku was a human who_ _ **dared**_ _to approach her fawn._

" _Do you notice how Noko-chan looks at me when Shikamaru is around? With complete mistrust and suspicion…" He whined to his wife at some point. She waved him off with a scoff, claiming he was delusional. Four year old girls aren't suspicious of their fathers._

"… _Unless they give them a reason to be…" She had finished with a dangerous tone._

 _Needless to say, he never brought_ _ **that**_ _topic up again._

 _The way Kanoko treated Yoshino was also_ _ **very**_ _different to how she treated him. Kanoko did everything Yoshino asked her and went out of her way to make Yoshino happy. Shikaku knew for a_ _ **fact**_ _that Kanoko_ _ **hated**_ _her long hair, but she continued to grow it out because Yoshino loved brushing and playing with it._

 _Kanoko treated her mother like today was the last day they would have together and treated her brother like he was a naive child in need protection and guidance._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _It._

 _Wasn't._

 _Fair._

 _Why did he get the short end of the stick?!_

 _He felt his eyebrow twitch as the staring match with Kanoko continued._

 _After what like an eternity, Shikaku decided to surrender. Sighing heavily, he cradled his head in his hands while groaning through them, "Why do you hate me so much…"_

 _He peaked through his fingers to take a look at Kanoko, who hadn't responded to his question. Kanoko was no longer blankly staring at him – in fact, she was no longer there at all._

 _Blinking, Shikaku stood up and casually walked through the house, looking for his missing daughter. When he made it to her room, he carefully walked in and began scanning the room for Kanoko. He didn't find her, but his eyes caught something else._

 _Picking up the small plush deer off the dresser, he held it carefully in his hands._

" _She kept it…" Shikaku spoke quietly._

 _Yoshino, after listening to Shikaku's whining, proposed he make his daughter something special, something that would be just hers from him._

 _So, Shikaku stole all of his wife's knitting and sewing books, and after several attempts and fully bandaged fingers, he made a small plush deer with lop sided eyes and a crooked mouth._

 _He never expected her to keep it…_

 _*creeek*_

 _Shikaku turned around, to look at slowly opening the door with a raised eyebrow. Standing in the door way was Kanoko, holding a familiar wooden box._

 _Holding it out towards him, Kanoko spoke with her typical emotionless tone, "…Could you teach me… How to play Shogi?"_

 _Shikaku just blinked._

 _Once._

 _Twice._

" _Sure…" He said in a daze before turning back to the doll in his hands. Placing it back on the dresser, he smiled kindly before looking back at Kanoko with the same expression. Slowly, he approached and lightly grabbed the board from her, "I would love to teach you how to play Shoji."_

 _Looking up at Shikaku, Kanoko tilted her head at him – as if confused by his actions. After a moment Kanoko nodded before her lips slowly formed into a small smile._

 _It wasn't a Yamanaka Ino, wide eyed and bright, smile._

 _It wasn't a Hyuuga Hinata, giggling and cute, smile._

 _._

 _But to Shikaku, it was a smile he would never forget._

 _A smile he would do anything to see again._

 _._

 _Because it was a smile meant for him, and only him._

 _A smile from a daughter to her father._

.

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Shikaku burst through the door to his family's supply shed, located in the Nara forest. With a haste not normally attributed to the Nara clan, he quickly sorted through the supplies and gathered a good amount of explosive tags, seals, and weapons.

Once gathered, he placed them on his person and took off further into the forest, the direction of the village's border.

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"What is a Cloud ninja doing in the Land of Fire, so close to the Leaf's village?"

Darui's eyes narrowed, "A better question would be, what is a disgraced, former Leaf nin doing so close to home?"

Kabuto chuckled lowly, "Now, now. No need to sound so _offended_. It's not as if I betrayed _your_ village." He paused to shrugged, "And I wouldn't exactly call this home… But that's another discussion for another day."

Darui placed a hand on the handle of his sword, "How about you answer my question, instead of rambling on. I don't exactly have all day to listen to a mad man."

"So touchy. Are all Cloud shinobi as distrustful as you?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses, "Though, I suppose it makes sense. With the way you lot recklessly and carelessly steal other's secrets… And people." Kabuto paused to smirk at Darui, "That's why you are here, correct? Another kidnapping and brain washing mission?"

Darui tensed, but remained cool and collected on the outside.

When Darui didn't respond, Kabuto continued, "Your mother was a victim of your people's savagery, and yet here you are – doing the same to another." Kabuto chuckled, crossing his arms with one hand on his chin in thought, "Quite ironic, if you think about it."

Darui's fists tightened as a frown formed on his face, "What is ironic, is you telling me that I'm the savage when your the one who experiments and plays with young children."

Kabuto placed a hand over his chest, "Me?" Kabuto smirked, "Well, I suppose you are right – even if you made it sound like I'm some sort of pedophile. I assure you, Orochimaru-sama is the one who holds that title. I just like to hold their insides in my hands."

Darui sucked in a breath, " _This kid… He's sick in the head…_ " Shaking his head, Darui forced himself to focus, " _He's trying to get in your head, and you're letting him. Get a grip of yourself, Darui!_ "

Pulling out his sword, Darui raced forward, while bellowing, "Enough! Water Style: Water Sword!" Water whipped around his sword as he brought is crashing down at Kabuto.

Kabuto was quick to jump back, flinging chakra scalpels at Darui. Darui deflected them with his sword before running through hand signs and spitting a jet of water at Kabuto.

"The Raikage's right hand man, huh?" Kabuto spoke with a smirk while flickering out of sight.

Darui quickly took a defensive stance – his eyes dancing around the area. He gritted his teeth before swinging his sword around to behind him, narrowing missing Kabuto, who folded backwards to avoid the blow.

Kabuto jumped back towards a tree and pushed off it with his feet, leaving a hole in the tree from his chakra pulse. "Not bad." Kabuto taunted as he pulled out a kunai and held it in a defensive position.

Darui narrowed his eyes as he brought his sword around again, this time meeting Kabuto's kunai at a standstill. Kabuto smirked just as his hands started to glow with chakra.

Darui's eyes widen, " _That's… Medical ninjutsu!_ "

As Kabuto's hand shot out, Darui jumped back. Kabuto frowned slightly before following him and sending out a series of kicks and punches.

Darui started sweating as he attempted to block each of them with his sword. After training extensively with C, Darui knew getting hit would mean game over.

" _I need to get him away and make this a distance fight._ " Darui thought as he sucked in air before shooting another jet of water out of his mouth.

Kabuto refused to back down and cut through the water to get a hit on Darui.

" _Big mistake._ " Darui thought as he made a hand sign while clicking his teeth, creating lightening. The dark blue lightening shot through the water current – burning Kabuto and making him scream out in pain before falling back.

Jumping farther back himself, Darui starting rolling quickly through hand signs, "Lightening Style: Black Panther!" Black lightening shot out of his arm and formed into a racing panther – heading straight for a panting Kabuto.

Kabuto cursed while jumping to the side, but not before taking a hit to his shoulder.

The area lit up in flashes of light blue and white as Darui continued his barrage of water and lightening jutsus, making Kabuto light on his feet and giving him no time to heal his wounds.

Darui gritted his teeth as another of his lightening attacks miss his intended target, " _I need to get him off guard and end with a crippling move…_ " Darui's eyes moved around the area before catching a glint of light reflecting off a piece of metal.

With no change in his expression, Darui spits out another jet of water, forcing Kabuto to the right. After Kabuto moves, Darui races towards with his sword in hand. Kabuto smirks as he pushes forward to meet Darui, his hands glowing with chakra.

Just as they are about to make contact, Kabuto eyes catch Darui's foot move ahead of him, in a motion to stop suddenly. Kabuto frowns in suspicion before catching a glint of light from a metal string.

" _Shit!_ " Kabuto thinks, too late as his foot gets caught in a trap, left by either a Leaf nin or perhaps Darui's team. Immediately, the trap is triggered and the ground beneath Kabuto ruptures in an explosion.

Kabuto pushes chakra into his feet to send himself into the air, in order to avoid being caught in the blast, but hissing at himself when he realizes his mistake.

Kabuto no longer has any leverage in order to move while in the air – stripping him of the ability to evade any incoming attacks.

Darui takes aim, "Gale Style: Laser Circus!" Beams of white light blasted from Darui and curved around in the air to hit Kabuto.

Kabuto takes the burst of lightening and water energy straight to the gut and is flung backwards through the air in the brush behind.

Darui watched as the leaves fall from the trees and dust floats in the air from Kabuto's impact. While keeping a keen eye on the area, Darui slowly approached the spot Kabuto was last seen. He cursed when found the area empty, " _Where is that four eyed monster…_ " Darui channeled chakra into his feet, ready to jump at a moment's notice while his eyes searched the trees above and the brush below.

"Beneath you."

Darui's head shot to the ground and moved to he pushed off of it just as Kabuto shot from underneath his feet – his arm extended out.

" _DAMNIT! He shouldn't even be able to move after taking a direct hit from my laser circus!_ " Darui thought as he felt Kabuto grab his shin. Quickly, Darui retaliated before Kabuto could get another hit in, "Gale Style: Laser Circus!"

Kabuto's eyes widened as he jumped to the side. His eyes got even bigger when he observed the laser beams following him as he moved. As fast as he could, Kabuto made a hand seal and substituted a log in his place.

The two shinobi hit the ground in opposite directions, each staring at the other while panting.

Darui fell on his knee, the leg Kabuto had hit was numb and wouldn't support his weight. Cursing in his head for his carelessness, he watched as Kabuto's skin burned from his gale style attack started to heal itself – a small amount of steam traveling up as it did. " _Just who is this guy…?!_ " Darui thought before choosing to distract Kabuto in the hopes he would get enough feeling back in his leg to stand again.

"I thought you hated the Leaf. Why are you trying to defend one of its own now?" Darui asked, panting as his spoke.

Kabuto smirked as he caught his breath before posing a question of his own, "What is it like in the Cloud? Where everyone is so boring and short sighted? Your imagination is so dull, it's no surprise you steal so much from others – you don't have the creativity to invent anything of your own."

Darui narrowed his eyes at Kabuto. Frowning, Darui responded, "And the Leaf is better? With its underhanded politics and military, and its constant betrayals – It's a wonder that there is anyone left to defend it when so many of its people are nuke-nin."

Kabuto shrugged with a grin, "You'll have no argument from me." Kabuto slowly stood, rolling his shoulder out as he moved. Kabuto looked up at the sky and smirked, "But the Leaf is still smarter than the Cloud, even if it by a slim margin."

Darui gritted his teeth in anger at the insult as his eyes moved up to catch what Kabuto was looking at: A large black raven.

Kabuto looked ahead again and gazed at Darui with a superior look, "Though, credit to where credit is due. Without you and your team, it would have been a lot harder to get my hands on something I am quite interested in."

Feeling his leg pulse with pain, Darui took that as a good sign and started pushing charka through it as he spoke, "And what is that, exactly?"

Kabuto's smirk grew as he adjusted his glasses, causing the light to flicker off of them, "Oh, I wouldn't worry your little head over it – It would just confuse you if I explained it. Simple minds and all that." Kabuto chuckled as he watched Darui's jaw twitch in anger before continuing, "But I will say this…"

.

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Kabuto made a hand sign as he held up an explosive tag.

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"If mysuspicions are right, you and your people never had a chance in turning _that man_ against his own village."

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*BOOOOOOM*

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Kiba nose scrunched up before stopping suddenly, causing the whole team to skid to a stop.

"What's the holdup dog boy?!" Naruto shouted ahead.

Shikamaru turned around and shushed him with a look before turning back to Kiba and letting him speak.

Kiba's nose sniffed a few more times before speaking, "Two shinobi ahead."

Shikamaru nodded and turned to Neji would nodded, "Byakugan!" Neji's eyes traveled far ahead, through the trees and found the two shinobi Kiba was referring to, "They're fighting. Both are using powerful jutsus and are moving quickly."

Shikamaru nodded, "Is Kanoko in the area? And can you tell me anything about them?"

Neji's eyes moved back and forth before answering, "No. Kanoko is not present." His eyes focused further, "One is using techniques common in Konoha while the other is very foreign."

"One of our comrades could be in danger!" Lee shouted, bringing his hand into a fist.

"Or this is a distraction by the enemy." Sasuke retorted, looking over at Shikamaru and adding, "I don't recall our mission including saving every _possible_ Leaf nin we come across."

Shikamaru frowned, but nodded, "It isn't."

Naruto looked conflicted, "I don't know… I'm with bushy brow… What if the guy's a comrade and if we don't help him, he dies?"

Sakura snapped her head towards Naruto, "And if we go help him, Kanoko may disappear forever – or DIE!" Sakura folded her arms over her chest, "We're already running against the clock here!"

Neji sighed, "And this debating is not helping either." He looked to Shikamaru, "What are your orders?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes in thought, " _A large part of me refuses to hesitate and demands I leave this unknown ninja to whatever fate may befall them, but…_ " Shikamaru looked at the innocent eyes of Naruto and Lee, " _…I'm asking them to put their life on the line to save a comrade and if I tell them to abandon this person, a possible comrade, it may lead to a loss of faith in me._ "

Shikamaru's eyes snapped towards Sasuke, "Sasuke. You and Naruto will proceed to the site of these two ninjas. If you learn that one is a comrade and you feel it's within your power to help, then do so at your discretion." Shikamaru turned to Naruto, "If neither are Leaf shinobi, you will leave immediately and join the group. **Understood?** "

Sasuke scoffed, but nodded in the affirmative. Naruto also looked serious, but nodded, as a thanks to Shikamaru. The two shinobi looked at each other before racing off towards the direction of the fighting nin.

Shikamaru stood straight, "Lee, take Naruto's position. We have to move quickly. Going around these two shinobi is going to slow us down otherwise."

Everyone nodded and moved into position before taking off at ground breaking speed.

Shikamaru stared at Kiba's back as they moved, " _I hope I made the right decision… Sending two of our heavy hitters away like that…_ " Shikamaru gritted his teeth in anger at himself, " _No sense in crying over spilled milk now, Shikamaru._ "

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" _Damn you Uzumaki Misako and your damning perfectionistic ways._ " Kanoko thought as she tried to will the tips of her fingers to move.

One of the other _joys_ of this sealing jutsu was the fact that she could still _feel_. Which means, when the ninja carrying her suddenly stopped, she could do nothing, but curse in her head at the sudden pain of her face smashing into his back.

"What is it C?" Kanoko heard the female of the group ask in a worried tone.

She felt the ninja, C, move slightly to look around before speaking, "There's… Five ninja around us, but I can't tell where exactly…"

The female spoke again, " _You_ can't find them? But you feel them?"

"Yes. It's like… Their chakra is sparking all over the place… This is not normal chakra I'm feeling…" C responded.

"Great…" She answered back.

Right about now, Kanoko _really_ wished this ninja had chosen to carry her bridal style. At least that way, she could actually _see_ something.

"Come one sis! We got this!" Another male spoke with the sounds of a sword being pulled from its sheath following.

"For once, I agree with Atsui." C carefully told his comrade, "I don't feel comfortable moving forward when my senses are all over the place. They could attack at any angle and split us up. We're better standing our ground here – together."

The woman was quiet. If she felt differently, she wasn't making it verbal for Kanoko to hear.

The next thing Kanoko heard was rustling and then a large boom, like something heavy just fell from the sky.

"You are wise in your observations of the situation." A deep and calm voice rang.

"Even if you're all going to die, either way!" A tight and scratchy voice laughed out.

Kanoko felt her captor tense and hiss at his remarks before speaking, "Who the hell are you?!"

The calm voice from before answered, "It matters not. Only that we will do what is necessary to achieve our goal – one given to us by Orochimaru-sama – and one that requires the child on your shoulder."

" _Oh for the love of..!_ " Kanoko thought, " _What am I, the new and exclusive doll that all the little girls are fighting over?!_ "

"If you think we're just going to hand her over to you, think again." C told them evenly, his hold on Kanoko's waist tightening.

"We don't think you're _just going to hand her over_ … Quite the contrary…" Another male spoke, chuckling as he spoke.

All Kanoko saw before getting thrown into a tree, and knocked out again, was the glint of a headband with a familiar symbol on it:

A sound note.

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"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune shouted while rushing through the door.

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork that Torune was holding out for her, "What is it now…"

Shizune placed her hands on her knees as she caught her breath, "Kanoko's… The team that was on patrol duty with Kanoko… Two of them have returned with news!" Shizune looked down as she continued, "…And it's not good."

Torune tensed slightly as Tsunade frowned.

"Where are they?" Tsunade asked.

"Here, Lady Fifth." A female voice spoke, her face and body covered in cuts and bruises. Following behind her was a young man, also looking as if he just escaped from an intense battle.

Tsunade eyed the two carefully before speaking, "…Hattori Takeshi and Nakadai Kyoko, chunin rank, correct?" Both nodded before Tsunade continued, "Tell me, why are you in my office, when I recall assigning you to patrol duty for the day?"

Takeshi was the first to speak, "Our team, comprised of myself, Kyoko, Nara Kanoko and team leader Kuro Daisuke, were completing our patrol duty when we were attacked."

"Attacked? By who?" Tsunade asked as she leaned forward onto her hands, staring intently at the two chunin.

The two shinobi looked sadly at each other before Kyoko nodded and continued on behalf of her grief stricken teammate, "…It was…" Kyoko shook her head before speaking quietly, "Nara Kanoko, my lady…"

Tsunade's face remained unchanged, even though inside she was shocked by the accusation.

"Where is your team leader?" Torune pressed, his tone tight and almost accusing towards the two shinobi.

Takeshi answered with a growl, "Daisuke… He… He scarified himself in order for us to escape and inform you, Hokage-sama, of Nara Kanoko's betrayal."

Tsunade rubbed her temple before interrupting Takeshi from going further, "Ok, back up. Let's start from the beginning. What happened?"

Kyoko took up the roll as story teller again, "The four of us were out patrolling when a clone, or maybe even the real Kanoko, appeared, sending a series of attacks our way. The three of us were defending ourselves just fine…" Kyoko bit her lip, "…Until her _allies_ showed up."

Takeshi continued when Kyoko couldn't, "It was difficult to tell who they were, as they had no identification as to what organization they belonged with, but there were five of them. Too many for us to handle…" Takeshi slammed his fist on the ground, "Damnit! She just stared at us with a raised eyebrow – as if she was unimpressed with our ability to defend against the onslaught she commanded!"

Kyoko placed a hand on Takeshi's back in comfort before looking up and speaking, "After barely holding on, Daisuke told us to leave and report what happened while he distracted the enemy. We ran straight here after that."

Tsunade closed her eyes in thought before opening them slowly, "I see…" Her eyes shifted between the two before speaking again, "And what of the kinjutsu scroll? Were you able to retrieve it from her?"

Kyoko shook her head in regret, "Please forgive us Hokage-sama. We tried to retrieve it from her, but… Her allies showed up before we could take it back…"

Torune and Shizune looked to each other, both trying to school their features as Tsunade spoke, "I understand. It is unfortunate, but I understand the circumstances were out of your control. Report to the medical wing and have them heal your wounds."

Kyoko and Takeshi nodded before walking out of the Hokage's office.

Tsunade spoke quietly, "Have Tenzo follow them – discreetly. I want to know who they speak to, what they say, and where they go – not necessarily in that order."

Torune nodded before forming a hand sign and disappearing.

Shizune turned to Tsunade, "Do you think they're lying?"

Tsunade stared ahead in contemplation, "…I don't know. They're lying about the scroll, but they could just be saying that to cover their asses." Tsunade's eyes narrow, "But experience tells me there is more going on here than what meets the eye…"

Looking down at her desk, Tsunade pushed through the papers before picking up one in particular. With a finger on her lip in thought, she spoke to Shizune, "Bring them here… I have a proposition for them."

Shizune blinked in confusion before bending over to read the small print on the paper. Her eyes went wide and gasped before asking, "…Are you sure?"

"Yes." Was Tsunade's only response.

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Neji's eyes moved rapidly around the area while the team moved quickly through the woods. He was off and on activating his Byakugan, trying to preserve what chakra he could while remaining alert and aware of their surroundings.

Neji smirked to himself. This would be the first time he was thankful he was placed under the tutelage of Maito Gai. All this running, paranoia and chakra usage felt like an average day for Team Gai.

Neji made another check with his Byakugan as his mind started to drift, thinking about their mission and the subject of the mission: Nara Kanoko.

After his father's death, Neji went into a very dark place. Some would say that he never came out of that darkness, but many never knew just how bad it was.

A strong anger towards his uncle was certainly one of his first things he felt after learning of his father's death, coupled with sadness and shock. But it wasn't until the **fear** set in that Neji truly dipped into a place so deep, so dark, those looking over him at the time wondered if he just checked out from the world.

One had even been so bold as to contact Hiashi, Neji's uncle and clan leader, and inform him of their worry and that Neji may attempt suicide.

Many tried to console Neji out of his place of darkness, but none of them **understood**. They all thought he was either overcome with grief or shock. They tried to tell him that his father wasn't _really_ gone, but inside his heart. Others tried to tell him that his father would have wanted him to live and grow, that Hizashi would be sad to see Neji act this way.

But none of it helped.

And honestly, if Neji had been in his right mind at the time, he would have been **angry** at them – how **dare** they tell **him** what his father would have wanted from him.

But all that aside, the true reason Neji had curled in and shut out the world was because of his breath taking, bone chilling **fear**.

When he was told of his father's death, after the pain, the tears, the shock, the truth of his clan glowed like a lighthouse on a dark night.

 **They had bombs on their heads**.

And there was nothing he, or anyone he knew, could do about it.

He was trapped, caged, and forever a slave.

Until the day they lit the fuse connected to the bomb **on his head**.

Perhaps his father was the lucky one: He was now free.

Days passed, turning into weeks, which turned into a few months. Every day, with every stepped, he wondered when he would be next, if it would hurt, how much it would hurt.

.

Until he ran into _her_.

One of the branch family adults grabbed him and took him into town to complete some shopping. Neji wasn't allowed to be alone until he showed improvement and the Hyuuga in charge of him needed to gather groceries for the feast the main family was having later that night.

At some point, while the Hyuuga in charge of him started arguing with a merchant over the price of a certain good, Neji's attention was caught by a small girl exiting a tea house.

She stood tall while her eyes narrowed at the people walking in front of her. Her whole posture was both un-child-like and one of pure anger. She wore her dark hair in a high bun and her clothes seemed odd on her – too flowery.

Neji's eyes jerked back to the tea house when a man, very old with black hair in a spikey ponytail and a goatee. His mouth was stuck in a scowl and when his eyes caught the back of the girl, he snarled. Stomping forward, he reached out to grab her arm. The girl scoffed, evading his reach by moving into the crowd before turning down an alley – the man in quick pursuit.

Neji couldn't remember _exactly_ what compelled him to follow, but he snuck into the alley before hiding behind a garbage can and listening to the exchange.

"-disrespectful girl! Know your place!" The man shouted at her, finally getting a hand on her upper arm.

Neji's eyes were wide as he watched the girl calmly narrow her eyes and reply, "Know my place? Let me tell you, _honorable grandfather_ , **I** know **exactly** my role in my family. I am to look pretty and act polite to company; I am to support my mother in the house chores while supporting my brother as he makes his way in the world; I am to make my father proud by marrying at a respectful age to a respectful man; I am not so disillusion to think that my clan will ever see me as its heir or clan leader; and most of all, **I** **know** no matter how great I become or how far I go, I am **tied** to this **sexist, closeminded, apathetic** clan and all its **obligations**."

The older man's eyes narrowed before speaking in a low, dark voice, "Then tell me, **girl** , if you know your role **so well,** why are you trying to be something you're not?"

Neji's breath was caught in his throat as he watched the girl smack the older man's arm off of her, the sound echoing through the alley, similar to a whip cracking.

Her eyes locked onto the man's, turning dark and cold as she spoke with venom dripping from her voice, "It's simple: **I. Don't. Care.** "

The older male sneered as he rubbed his sore hand before opening his mouth to speak.

He was interrupted as the girl continued, "You can threaten me, you can hurt me, you can even kill me, but you can't **break me**."

And with that, she spun around on her heel and strutted off with purpose – caring very little that she just exposed her vulnerable back to an enemy.

Something about what she said, how she said it resonated with Neji.

He may still be a bird trapped in a cage, his wings clipped, but that didn't mean he had to sit there and look pretty. He would pound against the walls of the cage, rip up all his toys and flip over his water dish. They could threaten him, hurt him, and even kill him – but they won't break him.

Once he was back at the compound, he started up his training again – the routine his father showed him – and then started watching and observing the other Hyuuga, learning their techniques and secrets.

After a while of pushing forward and becoming greater than any of the other Hyuuga that were his age and above, he started to resent those weaker than him.

Hinata, in particular, infuriated him.

If **anyone** should know their place **it was her**.

 **She had everything** , but was too weak to keep it.

 **It wasn't fair**.

And that's when he decided **life** wasn't fair and that one couldn't fight their own destiny.

He hadn't and Nara Kanoko sure hadn't. The last time he spied in on her, she was carrying her brother home on her back – as she did many times before. She may have been at the top of her class, but the teachers were still too awed by her brother's insanely high IQ to notice. Next to him, she must have seemed normal.

 **It wasn't fair**.

.

"Shikamaru!" Kiba yelled in a slight panic.

Shikamaru made a sign, bringing the party to a halt as he turned to Kiba, "What is it?"

Kiba turned to Akamaru, who barked at him in agreement, before turning to the group to speak, "There's a lot of shinobi ahead and I can smell blood."

Everyone turned to Neji, who focused ahead, "He's right. There are a lot of them and their chakra…!" Neji paused to gather his words, "Their chakra… It's not right…"

"Are they fighting? What is going on?" Shikamaru cut in, not liking what he was hearing, but not willing to waste any time either.

"Yes. They are fighting. Three against five, or six, I think." Neji reported with a clear voice, "And Kanoko's there too."

"She is?!" Sakura exclaimed, "Is she hurt? Is she fighting? What's going on?!"

Shikamaru shot a look at Sakura to be quiet before gesturing Neji to answer, "She's… On the ground… It's odd. I… Her chakra… It's not flowing…"

"WHAT?!" Sakura and Shikamaru yelled out. Sakura sucked in a breath, trying to hold herself together.

Shikamaru shook his head, "I won't believe she's dead. I would have felt it."

"Felt it?" Kiba asked.

Choji nodded, "Yeah. Shikamaru feels Kanoko's pain if it's really bad."

"I've never heard of such a thing…" Neji said with a curious tone before continuing, "But you didn't let me finish. Her internal organs are pumping chakra, keeping her alive, but the chakra to her limbs isn't moving. I've seen this before with paralyzed patients."

"…Paralyzed… Oh my god… Kanoko…" Sakura spoke lowly. Choji put a comforting hand on Sakura's back, understanding how devastating being paralyzed can be for a normal person, let alone a ninja.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, "This only changes how we bring her back, not if we bring her back."

Everyone nodded, feeling even more charged with the will to bring Kanoko home.

Shikamaru knelt down, pulling out a pen and paper, before looking up at Neji, "Tell me everything you are seeing."

Neji, in his calm, unchanging voice, spoke simply, "As I said, there are five or six odd chakra users fighting against three normal chakra users. The attacks they are using aren't leading me to any conclusion, but I can tell you one thing: They're all fighting for possession of Kanoko."

"Explain." Shikamaru said quickly.

"I believe the three nin are the one's holding her hostage, as they are taking turns defending her body. The other six are making a significant effort to get closer and collect her. Perhaps to take her or kill her." Neji finished.

"Neji!" Lee chastised him for being so brash, "You shouldn't speak so coldly about one's comrade!"

Neji just crossed his arms and ignored him teammate.

Shikamaru pushed around thoughts in his head, " _Even if they're not powerful nin, they still out number us. We may find an ally in these three nin protecting Kanoko, but they may have been the ones responsible for her disappearance in the beginning._ " His eyes scanned the group, "The best chance we have is to sneak up on the scene quietly and hope we can grab her while they're busy fighting." Shikamaru placed his pen and paper back into his pouch, "I'll explain the details as we move. We don't know how long they will be able to fend each other off."

The group nodded, getting back into formation.

00000000000000000000000

Samui cursed as she fended off another barrage of webbed attacks. After watching it take Atsui nearly all the chakra he had to escape the sticky net from the Sound shinobi, Samui was doing everything in her power to stay out of range.

It was proving to be difficult to evade while carrying the dead weight of Nara Kanoko.

" _This girl has given us nothing but problems!_ " Samui thought, dodging an earth style attack from below.

C and Atsui were trapped in a heavy battle between the leader, who was using his own bones as weapons, the two-headed-turned-twin ninja unit, and the genjutsu using red hair kunoichi.

Samui hissed as the spider like ninja appeared in front of her. Quickly, she shot out a lightening type jutsu and a bright flash of light followed, temporarily blinding him. In her haste to escape, she missed the incoming bolder in the shape of a spike heading her away.

"Ahh!" Samui called out as the bolder hit her in her shoulder, causing her to drop Kanoko. The Sound shinobi took advantage of the situation and raced forward to grab Kanoko's limp body.

"Not a chance!" Samui shouted out, bringing her tanto down on the large sound nin. He called out in pain as the tanto cut deep and stepped back.

C looked over and let out a large breath when it was clear that Samui hadn't completely lost the Leaf kunoichi to the other team.

C hissed as moved back to avoid another barrage of bones shot towards him. As a competent medical ninja, he noticed the leader was having difficulty with his movements, likely due to internal injuries. The problem was, neither he nor Atsui had gotten a hit on him yet, leading C to believe his injuries were from either a prior battle or an illness.

Either way, C was starting to realize the longer this battle went on, the more likely this other team would overpower them.

" _And then there's the genin. They finally caught up to us… The other two have either completely hid their presence or have left the group._ " C thought, turning his eyes from Atsui to Samui, "And i _t worries me that Darui has yet to catch up…_ "

Locking eyes with Samui, he gestured to her. Samui in turn nodded as she back flipped over her opponent.

C quickly pushed off the ground towards Samui, " _…Perhaps we can use these genin as a distraction._ "

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"Shikamaru, there's no way to get in there without being seen!" Sakura told him, staring at Kanoko's crumpled body lying in the middle of battle field. Most of the trees had either been knocked down or blown back from their attacks, leaving a bare area in the middle, similar to an arena.

In the bushes, outside the fighting, Shikamaru and his team sat as they planned their next move.

Shikamaru growled lowly at Sakura, but ignored her as his eyes focused on his sister, " _Kanoko… How did this happen… How did you let this happen…?_ "

"Shikamaru." Neji spoke forcefully, awaking Shikamaru up from his hazy thoughts.

Shikamaru grunted lowly before bringing his hands up to rub his face. He held them there for a moment as he thought before sighing heavily and turning to the group, "Pulling her out without anyone noticing will be impossible."

"What if you used your jutsu on her, Shikamaru?" Choji asked, having scene Shikamaru do many different things with his Shadow Possession Jutsu.

Shikamaru sighed as he spoke, "Using my jutsu is only half the equation. …Making her stand would provide both a shock factor and allow us a method of getting her to us…"

Neji was the first to cut in, "However, they will not hesitate for long. The more experienced shinobi may not fall for it at all."

Shikamaru nodded, "Correct. Which leaves us with a glaring issue…"

"Someone will have to act as the decoy." Sakura spoke lowly, the pieces starting to fall into place.

Kiba crossed his arms, "Seems pretty straight forward to me. Akamaru and I will cause havoc then high tail it out of there! Easy!" He finished with a fanged smirk, Akamaru barking quietly in agreement.

Shikamaru shook his head, "Even you're not fast enough Kiba."

"But I am!" Lee announced, raising his hand in the air before continuing, "I can get in there and pull their attention away! I promise you that if I am not fast-"

"SHIKAMARU!" Sakura called out.

All eyes shot up towards Kanoko, only to find the spot vacant.

"Up there!" Sakura pointed at the trees.

A blonde ninja with a white uniform had Kanoko in his arms and was traveling north with her, his team following behind. In quick pursuit was the five other shinobi, all dressed in similar tan tunics with a purple rope around their waists.

"They're making a run for it!" Shikamaru spoke, pushing off the ground. The team was quick to follow after Shikamaru, pushing off of the ground and jumping into the trees above.

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Kimimaro's eyes were locked onto the back of the Cloud nin as they jumped from branch to branch. Moving his eyes back to look at his "teammates", he scoffed lowly, " _Useless… They are only proving to be obstacles and deadweight…_ "

While he was looking at his Sound comrades, another's movement caught his eye, " _Leaf nin…_ "

Just as he saw them, the rest of the Sound Four became aware of the Leaf genin as well. The leaf nin were not being especially quiet and even if they were, the Sound shinobi were on high alert, due to the current circumstances.

"Let me take them." Kidomaru grinned wickedly, "Collecting them all up in my web will take no time at all…"

"Fine." Kimimaro spoke coldly, his eyes moving to Jirobo – specifically to his wound on his shoulder, "Catch up to us when you are finished… And don't take too long."

Kidomaru just scoffed, but grinned anyways before turning around.

The last thing Kidomaru heard from his team, as he waited on a branch, chewing on his web, was Kimimaro speaking in a thin voice, "…Do not fail Orochimaru-sama."

With a mouthful of web, Kidomaru smirked, " _Please… You know what they say about bugs trapped in a spider's web…_ "

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Shikamaru pushed his legs to move faster and was sweating as his mind raced, " _If they don't know about us, they likely do now…_ " Shikamaru gritted his teeth, " _What was I thinking?! Just jumping out there like that!_ "

Kiba had caught up with his canine companion, and had once again taken lead. Everyone else slotted into their former roles, all without Shikamaru's commanding them to – adding greatly to Shikamaru's guilt, " _They're trusting that I know what I'm doing and I don't even know what I'm doing… Damnit!_ "

"ACK!" Kiba shouted, dodging to the left, barely avoiding a thick, glue like substance heading straight for the team.

Shikamaru was pulled out of the way by a quick moving Lee while Sakura, Choji and Neji had time to avoid it on their own.

As he moved out of the way, Neji activated his Byakugan and studied the web substance, " _Chakra…_ " He thought.

"Ninja Art: Spiral Spider Web!"

"Choji! Sakura!" Shikamaru yelled out to them, watching the large web expand over them.

Their heads jerked up at the incoming web. Knowing neither would be able to avoid it, Sakura quickly made a hand sign, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Fire burst from Sakura's mouth and hit directly in the center of the net.

"Haha! Fire won't help you here!" The spider ninja called out. Everyone's eyes widened as the web continued on its course – trapping Sakura and Choji in place.

" _Damnit!_ " Shikamaru thought, taking a stance and sending his shadow up the tree towards the Sound nin. Giving a side look to Kiba, the fanged nin nodded.

"Awww, are you all so scared that you can't even move?" Kidomaru laughed hauntingly, "Makes my job easier! Ninja Art: Spiral Spid-!" The Sound nin stilled in his movements as he struggled out, "What the…! Why can't I move?!"

"Fang over fang!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru shot forward in a spinning motion to take Kidomaru out.

Kidomaru's eyes widen before smirking, pushing as much chakra into his fingers as possible so he could twitch a finger. Attached to that finger was a long thin thread.

Several kunai few out towards Choji, Sakura and Shikamaru.

Neji was quick to step out and deflect the kunai and shuriken heading for Sakura and Choji, who were still trapped in the web, but Shikamaru hissed as he cancelled his jutsu to move out of the way.

Kiba and Akamaru blasted into the tree, just as Kidomaru flipped backwards off of it. While in midair, Kidomaru smirked at Kiba and Akamaru before spitting out a large web – capturing both of them.

Kidomaru smiled wickedly, "Tell me, have you ever heard of the phrase "Pigs in a blanket"?"

Kiba just growled in reply.

The Sound nin laughed loudly, "Allow me to show you!" With his arms moving around rapidly, he started covering Kiba and Akamaru in a thick web until they were completely cased in by it.

"KIBA!" Shikamaru shouted, " _Shit! They might not be able to breathe in there!_ "

Neji was quick to appear at Shikamaru's side, his Byakugan active, "The threads… Chakra is coursing through them. I might be able to break through them – in fact, I may be the only one who can."

Shikamaru hissed low at that knowledge. With only one of them able to fight this enemy, the others will likely just become burdens to Neji. Shikamaru turned his eyes back to Choji and Sakura, "Test it by getting them out, I'll distract him while you do so."

Neji nodded, just before they both jumped back to avoid another string of web shot their way.

"Fine! If you're just going to run away, then I'll give my attention to your friends instead!" Kidomaru yelled out with a grin. Starting to chew, Kidomaru created a caramel colored substance. When he spit it into his hands, he stretched it out. When it harden, it took the form of a short spike with ridges.

Kidomaru's eyes focused on the two genin trapped in the web and grinned, "Now which one… The cute pinkette or the ugly fatso…"

"I'M NOT FAT!" Choji roared out, struggling back and forth, only to get further tangled in the web.

Next to him Sakura was frozen in fear. She couldn't move and as every second passed, she wondered if Kiba and Akamaru were even still alive.

Kidomaru laughed at the two before setting his sights on Sakura, "…What can I say? I'm a sucker for the ladies!" And with that, he pulled back his arm and took aim.

Just as Kidomaru pulled his arm forward to shoot the spike at Sakura, he was hit in the back.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee shouted at the top of his lungs, sending a series of kicks into Kidomaru's back. Lee grunted after a particularly hard kick, "I won't let you harm a single hair on my fair blossom's head!"

"Gyah!" Kidomaru choked out before pulling his many arms down. Barely visible strings wrapped around Lee's ankles. Smirking, Kidomaru used his body weight, he swung his arms around to pull Lee down – causing him to crash into the ground.

Lee spat out dirt as he turned to the Sound nin, who was aiming one of his spikes at him. Kidomaru pulled his arm back and let the spike go with a loud crack.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Shikamaru called out, a thick wall pushing up from the ground and standing tall in front of him and Lee.

The wall shook from the attack and Shikamaru turned to Lee, pulling his arm over his shoulder and jumping away with him.

"Get back here you brats!" Kidomaru yelled, growling to himself before sending the second of his spikes at Shikamaru's back.

"Ahh!" Shikamaru screamed, the spike hitting him square in the back.

*POOF*

Kidomaru cursed as he watched the Leaf nin he hit poof into a cloud of smoke – telling him that he hit a clone and not the real nin. Taking a stance and sending out more thin threads, Kidomaru gazed around the area in anticipation.

" _Where are they…_ " Kidomaru thought, growling slightly when he noticed his cocoons were open and empty.

.

Behind a large bush was the Leaf team.

"Kiba! Are you ok?!" Sakura whispered quietly, checking him and Akamaru over as she spoke.

Kiba nodded, "Thanks to pale eyes here... Thanks man."

Neji just nodded slightly before turning to Shikamaru, "If we're going to have any chance of success, one of us will have to stay behind while the others go after Kanoko."

Shikamaru frowned.

When no one responded, Neji continued, "We all embarked on this mission to bring back Kanoko, but that's not the only reason that we've come…"

Lee turned to his teammate with a curious look, " _I've never seen Neji act like this before…_ "

Neji continued, "…We are on this mission to protect a fellow shinobi, to defend the bond of the Hidden Leaf Village. We can't lose her now, not when we now know she won't be coming back on her own."

Lee stood up and nodded at his teammate, "I agree! You and I-"

"No Lee." Neji cut in.

Lee's eyebrows wrinkled, "But Neji…"

Neji shook his head, "This is only one ninja out of nine. Lee, you need to go ahead with Shikamaru and Sakura – they need you if they have any chance of bringing Kanoko home."

Lee looked to the ground, his fists tight. It was silent as the group watched the pair.

Neji placed a hand on his teammates shoulder, causing Lee to jerk up and look Neji in the eyes. Neji smirked at him, "I'll be right behind you."

Tears gathered in Lee's eyes as he nodded rigorously, "I promise you Neji, on my honor as a shinobi of the Leaf, we will bring Kanoko back home!"

"Didn't you already make that **exact** promise to Sakura before this whole thing started?" Kiba asked with annoyance in his tone, but smirked at Neji, slapping him on the back, "It seems Shikamaru's not the only one that can put up a good speech. Be careful man." Akamaru barked happily in agreement.

Stretching as he stood, Shikamaru spoke, "Well alright… Let's do this thing."

Sakura and Choji stood before walking over to Kiba, Lee and Shikamaru. The two of them nodded to Neji, who turned to where the Sound nin stood.

"…Thank you Neji." Shikamaru spoke softly just before the group jumped to chase after Kanoko.

"Not so fast!" Kidomaru called, sending a long string of web at them.

"Gentle fist!" Neji called, striking through the web and landing in between Kidomaru and his fleeing team, "You're opponent's me."

 _ **Kanoko backed away and grabbed the railing again before finishing, "You and I are nothing alike. I support my brother in his position. I believe in my team's potential – both of them. I know my worth and I know my faults, but I don't limit myself with weak ideologies. I train with purpose, I fight with purpose, I laugh with purpose, and I cry with purpose. That purpose is to protect those that matter to me. To protect my village and my home. Some may say it is a purpose given to me by another – forced upon me – but it is the purpose I have given… I will give my life for."**_

Neji closed his eyes, " _We're more alike than you think, Kanoko…_ "

When his eyes snapped open, his Byakugan was fully activated and focusing on the enemy before him.

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Torune stepped into Tsunade's office with a paper in his hand.

Looking up from her desk, she gestured for the chunin to leave as Torune approached her desk.

Torune waited for the sound of the doors shutting to speak, "Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade crossed her hands in front of her face, "Do you have an update from Tenzo already?"

"No." Torune responded.

Tsunade arched an eyebrow, "Then what is it?"

Torune stared ahead as he spoke, "News from the front line."

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 **Author's note:**

 **I'M SO SORRY! I wanted to finish this up sooner, but it. Would. Not. Write. Itself.**

 **It was horrible… I knew exactly what was going to happen, but every time I sat down… Nothing came out… It was horrible!**

 **I also caught that nasty bug going around and let me tell you, if you got that cold going around, you have my sympathies! I'm** _ **still**_ **coughing and it's been two weeks! Why can't they come up with the cure to the common cold already…**

 **In any case, sorry for the delay and thank you all for the amazing reviews! Let me know how I did, what you liked the best, what you are looking forward to or would like to see and as always, I will consider it carefully!**

 **I do have to say, when one of you reviewed and said something along the lines of, "wouldn't it be funny if Kanoko was taken by another group" I was like, "Holy shit! I've got a mind reading reviewer who knows what I am planning! What should I do?! Should I change paths, should I back track?!" I decided to just plow forward and wait to hear your feedback, so let me know! :D**

 **Thank you, you amazing readers/reviewers/followers/favoritors!**


	32. Chapter 30

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Naruto landed on a branch, located high in the thick forest. He placed a hand on the trunk of the tree to lean on it. Beneath him was a small clearing. His eyes focused on the men standing beneath him. The area was a mess, the ground torn up and a few trees had fallen, so Naruto knew a fierce battle had occurred. Now, the two shinobi just appeared to be talking, rather than fighting.

"…The one with gray hair…" Sasuke started as he approached Naruto from behind, "…He's the same ninja we faced briefly in Suna – during the invasion."

Naruto turned to Sasuke with a shocked face, "Wait, what?!" Naruto turned and squinted his eyes at the laughing ninja below, "…How can you tell..." Naruto closed his eyes and thought back, "And which ninja are you talking about…"

Sasuke's serious expression didn't change, "The Sand ANBU that showed up while we were fighting Gaara… The one that activated the seal on Gaara's neck."

Naruto's eye went wide. His head jerked back to the scene below. Naruto's fists clenched as he growled lowly, "…Shikamaru almost died because of him… And Gaara… If Kanoko wasn't there, Gaara would have…" Naruto shut his eyes in anger. Every day, he faced the fear of one day losing control to the demon fox. And this guy… He nearly caused Gaara to destroy everything in sight.

Sasuke eyed Naruto suspiciously. He knew exactly how passionate Naruto could be about those close to him. In fact, he witnessed it first hand during the Suna invasion. So Sasuke wondered… Was Naruto going to act recklessly now, or had he matured at all?

Both Leaf genin were jerked from their thoughts when an explosion boomed below them.

"Ack!" Naruto cried out lightly as a flying branch hit his cheek while he jumped out of the way. Quickly, he leaped behind a thick tree and avoiding the rest of the debris as it flew through the air. Once the smoke blew passed him, Naruto peaked his head around to look for Sasuke.

His blue eyes locked onto Sasuke's form – who was also behind a large tree a few feet from him. Sasuke nodded to him before looking below. The smoke took a moment to clear, and when it did, they found both men missing.

Sasuke held out a hand, indicating that Naruto hold his position while Sasuke went to investigate. Naruto frowned and gave Sasuke an annoyed look as the black hair boy quietly dropped to the ground.

" _Who put him in charge?!_ " Naruto thought, getting antsy. Looking back and forth, Naruto also leaped to the ground. Sasuke either didn't see Naruto move, or ignored him, as he continued to move slowly through the bushes and upturned trees.

Naruto quietly spoke, "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Three clones appeared before smirking and running into the forest, covering more ground. Naruto's eyes moved back to the explosion area, " _Tch. Amateur._ " The area was a mess, but was nothing compared to the destruction Kanoko left in her wake when Kakashi-sensei annoyed her with his Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu. Naruto chuckled to himself at the memory.

Naruto stilled when he heard the sounds of heavy panting and low grunting. Hiding behind a berry bush, Naruto silently peaked through the leaves – biting his tongue when the thorns scratched his skin, " _Should have picked a different bush, damnit!_ "

After yelled at himself, Naruto focused his eyes on the scene ahead. On the ground, holding his bleeding side, was the other man from before – the one Naruto had never seen before. The man looked a little younger than Kakashi-sensei and had messy platinum blonde hair. His outfit looked like a shinobi's, with the white armor plating and dark under garments, but Naruto couldn't place where he had seen it before.

"Shit…" The man hissed out as he lifted his hand from his side, to take a look at his wound.

Naruto's stomach churned. The man was clearly in need and Naruto wanted to help him, but…

The man's head hit the ground as he laid down flat. He stared at the sky with a dull expression, his hand still pressed into his bleeding side. Naruto heard him sigh loudly and relax into the grass below.

…He reminded Naruto of someone… Who…?

Naruto shook the thought from his head after settling on a course of action. Despite the repercussions, Naruto jumped out of the bushes – surprising the shinobi, who struggled to sit up straight. The man cursed lowly while sucking in air. He continued to move, pulling his sword in front of him as a shield.

Naruto just crossed his arms, "I was just going to help you!" Naruto took a defensive stance and growled out, "But I'm always ready for a fight!"

The man's eyes narrowed, staying silent before a sudden pang of pain in his abdomen made him hiss. His eyes drifted to his wound again, and then at the boy in front of him, " _It could be a trick by Kabuto…_ " Darui thought. His eyes analyzed the boy in front of him, " _A Leaf nin… If this was Kabuto, or one of his tricks, why would he try to blow me up and then pretend to be a kid?_ "

Darui raised an eyebrow and spoke, "Kid… What's your name?"

Naruto smirked, "The name's Uzumaki Naruto! Believe it!"

" _Idiot._ " Darui thought, giving Naruto an unimpressed look.

Naruto seemed to relax slightly as his moved out of a defensive stance to ask, "And who are you, huh?"

Darui didn't respond, he simply stared at Naruto and asked him another question, "Do you know any medical ninjutsu?"

Naruto squinted and frowned in annoyance as he muttered, "I ain't telling you nothing until you answer my question!"

Darui sighed out loudly before lowering his sword and falling back onto the ground. Darui just gave the sky an annoyed look before mumbling, "This is all so dull… _"_

Naruto raised an eyebrow before snapping his finger with a smile, "That's who!"

Darui lifted his head slightly to give Naruto a tired and confused look.

Naruto laughed, crossing his legs and sitting crisscrossed on the ground. Grinning widely at Darui, he spoke, "I have a friend that acts just like you! He's suuuper lazy and thinks everything is a drag!"

Darui just stared at Naruto, like he was crazy before giving up and chuckling lightly, "A drag huh? Well… I think most things are dull, so I guess I can't say much."

Naruto just chuckled with a large grin on his face before suddenly jumping up with a screech, "Ahh! I totally forgot! I need to get moving!" Naruto held his head while Darui's eyebrows rose at the sudden change. Pulling at his hair, Naruto looked towards the sky in misery, "How could I forget?! Sakura's going to kill me when she finds out…"

Darui blinked before started to cough out aggressively, blood spitting from his mouth.

Naruto looked down at the coughing shinobi before pulling out a scroll from his pack. Darui's body tensed and jumped slightly when Naruto dropped down next to him. Darui's hand shot out to grab Naruto's before he could activate the scroll.

Naruto gave him an annoyed look and yelled at him, "Look! Like I said before, I'm just trying to help! I got better things to do too, you know!"

Darui stared into Naruto's clear blue eyes. Even as Darui's body pulsed at the pain, he wasn't sure what to do. He looked into Naruto's eyes and saw sincerity in his words, but…

" _Perhaps it's the guilt._ " Darui thought to himself. The only reason he was even in the Land of Fire was to take something that belong to the Leaf.

And not just something, but someone.

.

The worst kind of theft.

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And here was a Leaf genin, trying to help him.

Darui chuckled lightly. It was ironic. He had kidnapped a child of the Leaf, was seriously injured by a traitor of the Leaf, and was now being help by **another** child of the Leaf.

And the worst part, the most ironic part, is that this mission was one he told himself, told his mother, that he would take part in…

"Just leave." Darui told Naruto, letting go of his hand and lying back down.

Naruto stared at him bewildered. The foreign shinobi made no further movements and Naruto couldn't understand – the man was slowly bleeding to death, why would he refuse help. Being the direct person Naruto was, he decided to be blunt, "And I thought my friend was lazy! You're going to die if you just lie there."

Darui shrugged, hissing again at the movement, "It's likely…"

Naruto growled low. Crossing his arms and standing up, he yelled at the man, "So that's it?! You're just going to do nothing and die?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Darui looked up at the sky with a heavy sigh before turning his half lidded eyes to Naruto, "…Look… Naruto, right?"

Naruto nodded.

Sighing lightly, Darui continued, "Naruto… If you don't leave now, you may never find your friend." Darui laid back down and stared at the sky, "So please leave."

Naruto's eyes went wide while he stumbled over his words, "W-What? You know why I'm out here?!" Naruto roughly grabbed Darui's collar and brought his face to Naruto's, "Did you see her?! Where?! Is she ok?!" Naruto paused before asking a final question, "How did you even know?"

Darui winced at the pain of being moved, but gave Naruto a dull look before answering, "…Is there any other reason a genin would be so far from Konoha? Without their jounin?" Darui raised an eyebrow at Naruto and muttered lowly, "You remind me of someone too… Reckless and bull headed when their friends become involved…" Darui almost chuckled as he thought, " _Just with less rapping…_ "

Naruto frowned before asking his question again, "But how did you know my friend was in danger?"

Darui just returned Naruto's question with a dull look before turning away and shrugging.

Naruto growled, his fists tightening around Darui's uniform. His breathing started to hitch and his arms began shaking lightly.

Darui was waiting. With the thought of death on the horizon and his own heavy guilt, he had foolishly given the Leaf nin enough information to form the conclusion that Darui had been involved in Naruto's friend's disappearance. He knew, if the tables were turned, he'd likely be a hand deep in the nin's body – trying to squeeze out any information about his comrade.

Pain.

Capture.

Yelling.

Those were all things Darui was prepared for.

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The wetness on his shirt, however, shocked him out of his daze.

"…Please… Please… Just tell me that Kanoko's alive… That she's ok…" Naruto was struggling to speak, tears pouring down his face and snot seeping from his nose, "...I… Didn't have any family growing up… And Kanoko… She's like the sister I never had, but I always wanted… Sometimes we fight, but I know… No matter what, she'll be there for me – just like a real family would."

Naruto took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes before yelling, "Don't you understand what it's like?! Don't you have a family?! Or someone you care about?! Someone it would just kill you to lose?!"

Darui stared blankly at Naruto. He didn't respond as Naruto continued to rant and cry. He just watched. It wasn't the first time a ninja has begged him for mercy by bringing up their family or loved ones. One day, perhaps today, Naruto would have to learn that the world wasn't a fair or even happy place – one day he would lose someone important to him.

Forever.

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But, Darui couldn't help but think of his mother again, when Naruto asked him to think about a person he cared for.

His mother had always been a strong constant in his life. Even though he was from a large family, his never knew his father nor did he know much about the fathers of his siblings. Back when kidnapping children with kekkei genkai from other lands was common, it was also common that those children be breed like cattle to strengthen the Cloud's army.

When he was young, Darui didn't know any better. Seeing his mother pregnant more often than not, he just assumed everything was normal. His mother always smiled kindly around him, giving him love and kisses until he wiggled out of her grasp, running away screaming something about "mom coodies". While he never felt too close to his siblings, all of them being so different, he wasn't the only kid that was from such an odd family, so he accepted things as he saw them.

After entering the academy and going on missions with his fellow genin and jounin sensei, Darui learned of Kumo's dark truth.

He remembered running home to question his mother. He was more on the angry side at the time – believing the only reason he was alive was to serve as a solider for the Cloud. When he yelled and screamed at his mother, asking her why she would willing have children just to send them to war – as if they meant nothing to her – she broke down.

Watching his strong and loving mother wail on the floor, telling him through painful huffs that he and every one of his siblings meant the world to her, but there was nothing she could do but watch as they were used as cannon fodder and it killed her a little more each day. She told him how she was taken at a young age from her family, her friends, and her home – only to be broken to the point that she would never be able to hold a kunai again, and then forced to breed children, in the hopes that some of them would inherit her kekkei genkai.

Darui didn't know how to respond.

He simply brought his mother close to him, hugging her and crying with her. Crying for her, for him, and for his siblings.

After that day, he spent all of his energy in trying to become the best shinobi in the Cloud. At first, he wanted to hurt those that hurt his family, but the Cloud was his home. He had friends, family and a life here. For all the bad things, even the horrible truth about him and his mother, there were many things about his home that he loved.

So he did the only thing he knew, he trained. He trained hard and long. He even trained with the Third Hokage at the time – learning the black lightning technique.

Darui hoped, perhaps if he trained hard enough, became strong enough, he would get into a position of power and influence and outlaw Kumo's practice of stealing children and breeding them as live stock.

And then Cloud nearly forced itself into another war with the Leaf. They attempted to steal the Hyuuga heir with a poorly executed plan and had the gull to act outrage when the Leaf prevented the Cloud from following through with their sick plot.

All of Kumo let out a breath of relief when the Leaf sacrificed one of their own to avoid war.

That was the first day Darui felt respect for the Leaf – specifically the Hyuuga clan. Darui wasn't sure if he would be able to make that same sacrifice for the Cloud…

It was only a few days after that his mother finally passed.

Her body had been in poor shape the last few pregnancies and had finally shut down.

Darui remembered being there with her, holding her hand while a few of his siblings stood around her bed. She told them, with kindness and warmth, how much she loved each and every one of them, and how she would miss them. She asked them to make her proud by living full and joyful lives, to find happiness and pursue it to its fullest.

And then, just before she passed, she turned to him and whispered to him how she was the proudest of him. He was strong in both mind and body and had a heart larger anyone she had ever met. Silent tears ran down her eyes as she looked at him, one last time, and asked him something her would never forget.

" _ **Promise me… Promise me that you won't let it happen… Won't let what happen to me… Happen to another…**_ **"**

Darui would never forget those words.

And when his Raikage asked him to lead the mission into the Leaf's home to kidnap a small girl from her family, from her home…

Darui tried to burry those words from his mother, his own feelings on the matter, and everything else that would compromise him from completing his mission, deep inside himself.

.

But.

Hearing Naruto beg him for someone he considered his family… It brought all those feelings to the forefront.

Darui was torn.

He loved his home. He loved his friends. He loved his family.

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" _ **Promise me… Promise me that you won't let it happen… Won't let what happen to me… Happen to another…**_ **"**

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Darui exhaled deeply before reaching a hand up to Naruto's shoulder. Lightly placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder, he gave Naruto a strong look in the eyes. Breathing harder from the pain in his stomach, he spoke, "Nara Kanoko is alive. If you leave me now and race towards to northeast border, you should make it before my team. They will not go down lightly..." Darui closed his eyes, " _…Or they might. Samui and C are support shinobi and Atsui is injured. …And reckless…_ "

Darui signed before opening his eyes and locking them with Naruto's blue ones, "I only ask that you spare my team. Once Nara Kanoko is freed, please leave with her. My team will not pursue if they see the battle is lost."

Naruto slowly wiped the tears from his eyes while breaking out in the largest grin Darui has ever seen.

" _Hehe. Sucker!_ " Naruto thought, holding in a fox like grin.

Focusing back on the injured nin before him, Naruto thanked Darui before taking off into the trees – intent on finding Sasuke and then Kanoko. Nothing was going to stop him from bringing his teammate home.

Lying back on the ground, Darui stared at the white clouds with a small smile on his face. Even as a part of him recoiled and attacked himself for betraying his team and village, a larger part of him felt light and free. It may make little to no difference in the long run, but Darui felt as though, through this one act – no matter how pointless it may end up being – he fulfilled his promise to his mother.

The promise he also made to himself.

To never let what happened to him and his mother happen to anyone else.

Staring back at the sky above, it occurred to Darui that he had never really watch the clouds before, but something about their light movements as they drifted through the sky had him fixated on the sight.

Darui lifted his head to look as his wound again, " _That wound is too deep… Knowing my luck, there's probably a piece of tree in there too…_ " Darui cursed tiredly. He had never dabbled in medical ninjutsu, since C was always around. They had been genin teammates and after losing their third teammate and sensei, they turned into an unbeatable team of two. They had impressed their superiors so much with their tagged team abilities that they were almost always given missions together.

Now, Darui sorely regretted never listening to C whenever he rattled on about medical ninjutsu.

Darui closed his eyes, feeling the warm wind blow through his hair, " _It's a nice temperature here… but I miss the chill of Kumo._ "

Darui's eye snapped open when he felt his hand moved out of the way. He stared at Naruto shocked. Naruto ignored him as he slapped a tag on Darui's side, where the bleeding hole was. Darui opened his mouth to yell at Naruto, but stopped when he saw the tag glow and then spread over his side.

"ARG!" Darui growled out, the pain hitting him in full force. His side felt like it was on fire and he could see steam flow up from his wound. After what felt like forever, the steam thinned and the glowing faded.

Darui panted as he caught his breath. After a few moments, he turned his head to see a grinning Naruto staring at him. Darui turned his suspicious eyes from Naruto to his side. His eyes widened. Darui sat up slowly and placed a hand over the previously injured area.

He pulled at his attire. His skin was a darkened reddish, purple color, but it was completely fused together – he was no longer missing a part of his side. Darui started pinching it, hissing slightly at the pain, but was still shocked the patch-work.

Darui looked up at Naruto in shock, "…How?" Darui quickly changed his question, "Why?"

Naruto stared at Darui like he was crazy, "Duh! You were dying!" Naruto crossed his arms, "What was I supposed to do, just leave you to die?!"

Darui felt his head slowly nod. When Naruto gave him an annoyed look, Darui just shook his head with small smile, " _This kid's crazy…_ "

Naruto rose to his feet with a large grin and his arms crossed, "Well, now that my work is done here, I need to get going!" Naruto paused before a thought hit him. Looking back down at Darui, he spoke, "That was a seal that forces the skin to grow over the wound while your body tries to repair the damage at a normal rate – or at least, that is what Kanoko told me…." Naruto shrugged and continued, "So, apparently, your wound's not actually healed, so you may not want to open it again, because the speedy repair of your skin that you just saw was a onetime thing." And with that, Naruto turned to leap away.

Darui sat up straight quickly, trying to stand up, "Wait!"

Naruto turned around, "Huh?"

Darui stumbled to his feet, "I… You're really just going to leave me here?"

Naruto tilted his head and gave Darui a quizzical look, "Yeah… I can't exactly bring you with me."

Darui shook his head, "That's not what I…" Darui sighed before smiling tiredly, "…Nevermind. Just…" Darui paused, trying to find the words he was looking for before settling on, "Thanks kid. You really saved me."

Naruto's grin widened and it blinded Darui with how bright it shone.

And in the next moment, Naruto had leaped away into the trees, leaving Darui to his thoughts.

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Sasuke dropped down on the ground after clearing the area from above. Taking a closer look at the recent battleground, Sasuke started to look for clues that would tell him more about the shinobi that were fighting here.

He wasn't finding anything.

Frowning, Sasuke started walking around the area for tracks leading away. Perhaps he can at least find the other shinobi, who is likely too injured to move. As Sasuke started to look around, his mind began to wonder.

A part of Sasuke wondered if this rescue mission wasn't a rescue mission at all. Sasuke didn't find the idea of Kanoko leaving the village as all that strange – or even outside the realm of possibilities. Kanoko never seemed very challenged when they weren't in the heat of battle. She loosely listened to her sensei, if Sakura's ramblings were anything to go by. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if she got bored and was out looking for greater challenges and teachers.

If she was even interested in a teacher…

When the rookie teams got together for skirmishes, Sasuke noticed something about Kanoko. Often, she took lead of their training, telling them where their faults lie and what they could do to get better – or even what techniques they should focus on to cover their weaknesses.

Watching Kanoko with her team really frustrated Sasuke.

While he probably never admit it out loud, being on a team with Kiba, Hinata, and Kunerai-sensei had done a lot for his mental state. They gave him space when he needed it, but knew the right time to pull him out of his shell and spend time together just enjoying life. Sure, sometimes Kiba got on his nerves and it was tiring keeping an eye on Hinata all the time, but they were both growing and maturing – and at a pace Sasuke was comfortable with.

Kurenai had focused on training him in the art of genjutsu, something he would always be grateful for after learning how much of a genjutsu master _**his brother**_ was – even for an Uchiha. Kurenai-sensei was always a mix between calm and stern with him. In fact, she had a personality for each of her students, which intrigue Sasuke at first. To Hinata, Kurenai was tranquil and supportive. To Kiba, she was firm and indifferent – playing on his need to be seen, much like Naruto.

They were nothing he expected them to be and he was slowly accepting them as more than just a team, but as friends. In turn, Sasuke started to feel a sort of, sense of responsibly for them.

So it frustrated him when Kanoko, his rival from the academy, took her band of _**losers**_ and started turning them into the kind of ninjas you hear stories about.

And now Naruto…

Sasuke thought back to the Suna invasion: The massive amount of clones, the incredibly large summon, facing off Gaara who was more monster than man at the time…

And after matching his Chidori to Naruto's Rasengan…

Sasuke gritted his teeth as his fists turned white, " _There's no other explanation. I'm not progressing under this kind of training. While I don't like it, it doesn't surprise me that Kanoko has gotten stronger than me. But Naruto?!_ "

Sasuke scoffed lowly to himself before stepping farther into the forest. Eventually, Sasuke reaches a small clearing. Looking around and finding no more signs of an escaped nin, Sasuke turned to leave.

.

"Well, well. What is Uchiha Sasuke doing so far from home?" The voice paused to chuckle, "They finally extend your leash?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the voice before calling out to him, "Show your face!"

"Now, now. No need to yell." The voice spoke before dropping down from above, a few feet from Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes went wide slightly before narrowing again. It was the gray haired ninja from before, "You. You were in Suna during the invasion. What is the Sound doing in the Land of Fire?"

The shinobi chuckled, adjusting his glasses, "Kabuto is my name – so you don't have to keep referring to me as the "Pretend Sand ANBU"."

Sasuke just glared, not responding to Kabuto's playful attitude.

Kabuto smirked. Resting a hand on his hip, Kabuto started to speak, "I can see you're busy, so I'll be brief." Kabuto paused before continuing, "You aren't going to get stronger, in the limited amount of time you believe you have, by staying in the Leaf village."

Sasuke scoffed, "Is that so?"

Kabuto just hummed slightly, "Why, of course it is." Kabuto chuckled again, "But don't take my word for it. Find out for yourself."

The Uchiha eyed Kabuto with distrust, but was curious as to what he was planning, "…And how am I supposed to "find out for myself"?"

The end of Kabuto's mouth twitched up, "…Farther ahead is more Sound shinobi. All of them are recent additions to the Sound, and when they came to us, they were quite weak." Kabuto smirked, "And now? I would say they are on the same level as jounin."

Sasuke stilled, trying desperately to control his face, " _Shit! I need to grab Naruto and catch up to Shikamaru and Kiba._ " Sasuke was quick to organize his thoughts, "…How many Sound shinobi?"

Kabuto turned away and shrugged, "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" And with that, Kabuto started to casually walk away.

"Wait!" Sasuke called out, running after him with a kunai out.

With a chuckle, Kabuto flickered out of sight.

Sasuke cursed as he looked around, trying to find where the man, Kabuto, went. After a few moments, Sasuke gave up on the task and leaped into the trees – focused on grabbing Naruto and heading out to warn his teammate of the upcoming danger.

.

"See you soon. …Uchiha Sasuke." Kabuto's voice drifted through the area.

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" _Remnants of traps… Clearly, the group that has Kanoko isn't taking any chances and are going all out on the group ahead of us._ " Shikamaru clicked his tongue on his teeth, " _They're not your average ninja – They're high level shinobi or at the very least, are smart enough to stay one step ahead._ " Shikamaru exhaled, his eyes unmoving from the path ahead, " _But the group ahead of us… The Sound shinobi aren't taking us seriously. We haven't run into a single trap – leading me to believe they assumed their comrade would be enough to stop us…_ "

Shikamaru felt his eye drop slightly, " _They're either over confident in their abilities, or are very strong and I just left Neji to his death… And I have a bad feeling it's the latter…_ "

Shikamaru turned his head to find his best friend's eyes. Choji returned his look with a worried expression.

"What's the plan, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked, being careful not to trip as she sped through the forest.

Shikamaru was silent, leading Sakura to believe that he was ignoring her. Behind her, Choji gave his best friend a worried look. He knew this mission was taking its toll on the shadow user. Choji knew the scariest and toughest thing Shikamaru had ever been through, to date, was the Suna invasion and even then, the situation was so far out of his control, he likely didn't get a chance to over analyze or freak out. And in the end, it was Naruto and Kanoko who handled the situation.

Now… Not only was the successful completion of this mission his responsibility, but so were the lives of everyone on the mission. He had just been named chunin a couple days ago and the only experience he had to pull from was leading his own team – since Asuma preferred to have Shikamaru lead them on their missions.

But Choji also knew that, if the only weight on his best friend's shoulders was the mission objective and their lives, he would be able to push his insecurities aside for the most part and lead effectively.

The real reason Choji was worried was due to what they saw moments ago: Kanoko's body limp on the ground.

Shikamaru could tell them that he was not affected and that he still had complete control of his faculties, but Choji knew better. To Shikamaru, Kanoko was like… An older brother? He knew that sounded weird, but that's just how Choji felt about Shikamaru's relationship with his sister.

Sure, Choji had seen the beginnings of a sister complex from his buddy, but starting from the moment they met, Shikamaru had always talked about Kanoko as if she was an older, wiser, stronger sibling of his. If Shikamaru didn't know the answer to something, he would walk up to his sister and ask her. If he and Choji were getting picked on by some older kids, Shikamaru would lazily drop his sister's name – making the kids scatter in fear. If he just needed some sagely wisdom, he'd look for his dad until he got bored and asked his sister instead.

One night Choji had stayed over at Shikamaru's for a sleep over. They had a blast until they were forced to go to sleep. Not one to stay awake when he didn't need to, Shikamaru was quickly out like a light. Later that night, Choji was woken by the smashing of glass. There was a storm raging outside and a tree crashed into Shikamaru's window – shattering it. He was terrified and when the thundered roared, he quickly hid under the blankets. When Choji peeked an eye out, he saw Shikamaru doing the same thing - shaking slightly with a pillow over his head.

Lightening flashed again, followed by the roar of thunder, upsetting the young boys even further. Choji remembered being close to tears before feeling warm arms enclose around him and Shikamaru. Choji remembered looking up in shock as Kanoko pulled the two of them in close and told them it was ok, she wouldn't let the storm harm them.

She would protect them.

Shikamaru immediately calmed down and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth and safety of his sister. She then took them to her room, which didn't have a broken window, and had them take the bed. She grabbed a blanket and told them to go to sleep before getting comfortable on the ground.

The two boys quickly drifted to sleep, but when Choji woke up the next morning, he found Shikamaru on the ground, curled up next to his sister.

It was after that, that Choji knew for certain.

To Shikamaru, Kanoko was his protector, his role model, and the person he relied on the most.

To see her like that – unmoving, vulnerable, and completely at the mercy of another – it probably shook him to his core.

Choji just hoped Shikamaru snapped himself out of it.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura called to him again, trying to get his attention.

Shikamaru just "tsked" before drawling out, "…Clearly they don't see us as a threat, since we haven't run into any traps."

Kiba sniffed the air before looked over his shoulder, "…were getting closer."

Shikamaru took the information in while speaking, "Normally… I would suggest one of us henge as their comrade and infiltrate their group – since they seem certain we are either dead or still occupied."

Sakura looking at Shikamaru's back quizzically, "But…?"

Shikamaru sighed, "But… That wouldn't actually help us. This group doesn't have Kanoko and outside of the fact that they are after her too, we don't have anything to fight with them about."

Silence took over the group as they leaped through the air, hopping from branch to branch. Shikamaru focused ahead, running through the information they gathered so far. " _Going around them would take time and it's unlikely we would be able to catch up if we do that._ "

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, his fists clenching, " _We only have one option…_ "

"One of us is going to have to push forward while the others take on the Sound team." Shikamaru spoke in a grave voice.

Silence took over the group again as they replayed Shikamaru's words in their head again. Shikamaru exhaled lightly, his eyes dropping, "…There's four of them left, and there's five of us… We don't know what kind of abilities they have, or how powerful they are…"

"I will stay behind." Lee spoke in a determined voice, "And I think I should be the one to take the leader on."

Shikamaru turned his head to look at Lee, "You're the most experienced and strongest of us… I want you to go ahead and leave us to handle the group…"

"No. If anyone should continue after Kanoko, it should be you, Shikamaru." Choji spoke from the rear of the team.

Kiba nodded, turning around to look at Shikamaru, "Choji's right man." Kiba shrugged with a smirk, "When Naruto and Sasuke show up, they're going to need you to lead them – if they haven't already killed each other."

Shikamaru frowned at the two of them, "Naruto and Sasuke are too far away. At this rate, they aren't going to catch up in time. Lee is the one with the best chance-"

Sakura crossed her arms and gave Shikamaru a hard look, "Whether Naruto and Sasuke show up or we finish our fights, both are going to take time. There's only one person in our group who was raised in stalling and trapping tactics – and that's you, Shikamaru! You're the only one that can slow the three that have Kanoko enough for reinforcements to arrive."

Akamaru barked, leading Kiba to smirk and laugh, "Even Akamaru agrees!"

Shikamaru gave the group an annoyed look, which they returned with a laugh. Sighing, Shikamaru smiled slightly, " _…I really couldn't ask for better friends._ " Sighing again, Shikamaru grumbled out, "Fine." He moved his eyes to the path ahead, "In that case, here's the plan…"

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Kimimaro's eyes narrowed, " _Kidomaru hasn't returned..._ " He shifted his red line eyes to Tayuya and Jirobo, " _Useless..._ " Kimimaro continued to leap through the thick forest. The farther north they went the thicker the deep green brush got.

"Where is that fucking idiot?" Tayuya scoffed out, her face turning into a sneer.

"Tayuya! You're a lady! Start speaking like it!" Jirobo shouted.

Sakon chuckled, "I don't know why you even waste your breath. Tayuya wouldn't know proper etiquette if someone shoved it up her ass!" Sakon broke into a full out laugh at his own joke.

A low growl slipped out of Kimimaro before he opened his mouth to tell the other Sound nin to shut up, but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Kidomaru - leaping out from behind the leaves of a tree.

"Did you miss me?" Kidomaru asked with a smirk, keeping pace his other teammates as they moved from branch to branch. Kimimaro narrowed his eyes in response.

Sakon was the first to speak, "Took you long enough. You shouldn't play with your food - it's bad manners." He finished with a chuckle.

Tayuya just scoffed while Jirobo nodded at his spider-like teammate.

Silence took over the group again for a moment before Kidomaru interrupted it, pulling their attention, "You know... Twice I've had the pleasure of having you guys get in the way of my mission... And twice has my team fooled you. …The Sound must not favor brains over brawn."

Shock rolled through the Sound nin before Kimimaro leaped over Tayuya and shot towards Kidomaru with his bone sword out. Kimimaro swung his arm back and pointed the tip at Kidomaru.

Just before the bone sword hit, Kimimaro was stopped by several thin metal wires. More than fifteen metal wires flew gracefully through the air and strung themselves around the Sound team and the trees surrounding them. Tayuya was the first to make a quick brake, just barely missing the trap.

Sakon grunted as his legs and ankles were caught - the wire cutting into his thin skin and making him hiss. Jirobo was completely wrapped, fighting against the tightness.

Kimimaro was pushed back and swiftly moved through the trees to a higher spot, his eyes rapidly moving over the area to identify the threats. His head shifted towards Tayuya, who was pushed back towards Jirobo and Sakon by a large fireball.

Slowly stepping out, a group of three Leaf shinobi smirked at the pinned Sound nin. One of them, the shaggy one with a small dog crossed his arms and smirked up at Kimimaro, "You gonna come down and save your friends?"

Tayuya was the one who answered with a scoff, "We aren't all bleeding hearts like you weak Leaf bastards!" Tayuya finished by pulling out her flute and holding it up to her mouth.

Jirobo and Sakon both cursed before Sakon cursed at Tayuya, "Bitch!"

A light tune started to ring through the area.

"Genjutsu!" Sakura shouted to the group, pushing her chakra into her two comrades to disrupt the illusion.

Kiba just smirked, forming a quick hand sign, and then rushing forward with Akamaru, "Fang over Fang!" He leaped into the air before spinning around at a high speed and heading straight for the musical shinobi. Tayuya cursed, leaping back – trying to holding her tune – with Kiba and Akamaru hot on her tail.

While Kiba was busy with Tayuya and the others distracted by the genjutsu, Sakon pulled himself out of the jutsu by twisting himself further into the wire, causing pain, before breaking from the trap a leaping towards Sakura and Choji.

Sakura was quick to react. Running through another set of hand signs, Sakura sucked in air before blowing out another medium sized fire ball at Sakon.

Sakon cursed his luck. He threw a kunai with a wire towards a tree and pulled himself out of the way. Sakura watched him carefully with a kunai in front as Sakon swung around and landed on a branch not far from her.

Choji turned from Sakura and her opponent, to the Sound shinobi still restrained by the wire trap. Choji frowned at him. He knew that he needed to defeat this guy - if he didn't he would be putting his team in danger - but at the same time, the guy was caught and Choji wasn't sure about attacking a nearly defenseless enemy.

Jirobo watched as the Leaf nin struggled with the morality of the situation and smirked. Tentatively, Choji pulled out a kunai and slowly walked towards Jirobo - an upset look in his eyes. Just as Choji got within reach, he paused again - wondering if he had the stomach to kill someone for the first time.

" _I'll just knock him out._ " Choji thought, turning the kunai around and bringing his arm down to knock the enemy out.

Jirobo couldn't hold his deep laugh, catching Choji off guard before Jirobo burst from his restraints. Choji's eyes went wide in shock and failed to move away in time, earning a sucker punch to the gut.

Choji grunted and coughed up spit as he stumbled backwards. Jirobo was quick to follow up, dropping off the branch and hitting the ground with a loud boom.

The ground shook – making the ground crack into large pieces. Cracking the ground further, Jirobo lifted up a large piece of earth and hurled it towards the Leaf nin. Choji dove out of the way, falling from the branches in the process, and meeting Jirobo on the ground below.

Choji moved into a defensive stance, his eyes turning serious as he observed his enemy carefully.

Jirobo chuckled darkly – a large grin plastered on his face.

.

Kimimaro observed the fights below. He cursed at himself when he lost track of the fake Kidomaru in his haste to escape the trap, " _It doesn't matter now._ " Kimimaro looked down at his fellow Sound shinobi and scoffed at their sloppiness.

Turning away from the scene, Kimimaro leaped to another branch, intending to continue the chase for Nara Kanoko.

"Leaf Kick!" A loud voice shouted from Kimimaro's side. Flipping backwards, he landed on another branch with easy.

Kimimaro gazed blankly at the sight before him. A Leaf nin, with dark hair and green jumpsuit, took a taijutsu stance in front of him.

"You will not be continuing. I am your opponent now!" Lee shouted to the Sound nin, preparing for an attack.

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes. Bringing his bone sword up in front of him, he stared at Lee, " _I will not let Orochimaru-sama again. I will complete the mission – regardless of how many corpses I must walk over to do so._ "

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… _He took off, ignoring her struggled cries and whimpers._

 _With ease, Tobirama navigated swiftly through the trees until he reached a small clearing. Slowing his pace, he approached the sparkling creek. Tobirama bent down, cupping his hand and taking a small sip. Satisfied, he shook the remaining drops of water off of his hand and gazed up at the sky._

 _The clouds were plentiful and bright, traveling slowly in the sky. Tobirama marveled at the beauty of the sky. Ever since Tobirama was born, he never truly felt at peace. He remembers being carried often – not because his parents liked to hold him, but rather due to the constant fleeing from enemies or simply traveling to new lands._

 _When he was old enough to walk on his own, that was the moment he learned no one would be coming to his rescue. Not his mother, not his father, no one. Hashirama, his older brother… Hashirama who was kind, loyal, and cared too much… Hashirama was the only one who looked out for him – who was there for him – but his older brother wasn't old enough or strong enough yet to protect Tobirama and his two younger brothers._

 _So, everyday, Tobirama trained hard and longer, in order to get stronger. Everywhere he went, he assessed and monitored his surroundings for traps, enemies, and natural dangers. Everyone he met, including those dubbed "ally" by his clan, were met with his suspicious gaze and tense form – ready for a fight, should one break out._

 _Tobirama had never known peace, and he was starting to think he never would._

 _._

 _Tobirama's body stilled while continuing to stand by the stream. Someone was approaching – and was struggling to do so too, if their pulsing chakra told him anything. Once the chakra got close enough, and the loud sounds of stumbling was heard, Tobirama shrugged – already aware of the individual and not in the least concerned for his own safety._

 _Pushing through the berry bushes was a small girl with long tomato tinted hair. She was holding her arm close to her body and had a firm frown on her face. She was mumbling low. "Likely curses", Tobirama reasoned, before she gaze caught a bored looking Tobirama at the side of the creek._

 _Her face quickly morphed into one of anger, a long growl escaping from her throat. Raising her other arm, she pointed aggressively at Tobirama and snarled out, "YOU!"_

 _Tobirama raised an eyebrow in response._

 _Her face turned deep red in anger. Then, to Tobirama's bewilderment, she started jumping up and down while screaming out curse words._

" _She's crazy…" Tobirama thought, his eyes wide as the girl continued her tantrum. Choosing to leave, fearing she may be carrying a disease, Tobirama turned and started to walk away._

 _The girl stared at him in shock for a moment before roaring at him, "NOW JUST WAIT A MINUTE! Don't think you're getting away so easily, you pompous jerk!"_

 _Tobirama didn't stop walking, but replied without a care, "I have nothing to do with you. I neither set the trap, you so foolishly fell into, nor did I push you into the trap."_

 _The girl scrambled to follow after Tobirama, a fist in the air as she continued to yell at his back, "You could have_ _ **helped**_ _me when you found me there!"_

 _Tobirama just rolled his eyes and ignored her._

 _She stomped her foot down, her face going red again before she jogged up to Tobirama again, "Don't you ignore me!"_

 _Tobirama spun around on his heel to face the girl, who took a small step back – surprised by his sudden movement. Quickly, she took a defensive stance, ready for battle._

 _Tobirama just raised an eyebrow at her before speaking in a dull voice, "I had no obligation to help you. Now leave me alone." And with that, he turned and started walking away again._

 _The girl looked at him shocked again. She huffed angrily before running up to him again and telling him, "And I have no obligation to leave you alone! Jerk!"_

 _Tobirama just shook his head, completely annoyed, before continuing to walk away._

 _._

" _She's just going to keep yelling at you until you apologize, you know."_

 _Tobirama froze. How the hell did someone sneak up on him?!_

 _Turning his head over to the location the voice came from, his eye twitched violently. "Mind your own business, Nara."_

 _Lying against a tree with his arms behind his head was a young boy, around Tobirama's age. He shrugged at Tobirama, "Whatever."_

" _And who the hell are you?!" The Uzumaki yelled, running over and zooming in on the intruder._

 _The Nara sighed dramatically. Turning a droopy eye to Tobirama, he drawled out, "You sure know how to pick them, don't you?"_

" _Clearly." Tobirama answered with annoyance, his comment aimed more at the Nara than at the Uzumaki._

" _Hey! Have your little boy moment on your own time! You and I aren't done, you hear me Senju?!" The girl shouted at the two before raising a fist at Tobirama again._

" _Oi. I was just trying to help you, girly." The Nara sighed, closing his eyes, "I don't even know why I even tried… You women are all the same…" He opened his eyes as he scratched his chin in thought before mumbling, "Maybe I should learn from Tobi and just walk away when I see a woman in need…"_

 _Tobirama glared at the Nara, "I told you not to call me that."_

 _At the same time, the girl whipped her head around to face the Nara, her red hair whipping around in the air, "What was that?!"_

 _The Nara just shrugged, getting bored with the conversation and wanting to go back to sleep._

 _The Uzumaki girl just shook with rage before looking at Tobirama, then back at the Nara. After stewing for a moment, she raised a hand in the air and pointed between them as she shouted, "My name is Uzumaki Misako, heir to the Uzumaki clan, and you both are going to rue the day you decided to pick a fight with me!"_

 _The two just stared at her with dull expressions, as if to say "who cares"._

 _Misako screamed in frustration before turning her heel and marching away._

 _The boys stared at her until she was out of sight. It was quiet between the two of them before the Nara broke the silence, "…I know I'm sexist, so my views on women are a bit screwed, but... That one's just crazy."_

 _Tobirama couldn't help but nod in agreement. After which Tobirama turned and started walking away, but not without one last comment._

" _Sounds like perfect Nara wife material to me."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _Oi! Don't joke like that!"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Kanoko's eyes snapped open, " _That's it!_ "

Kanoko moved her eyes around. She noticed that they were still in the Land of Fire – if the trees and landscape was anything to go by. The group was moving swiftly through the forest, and Kanoko noticed the two excess members of the team were jumping around, setting trap after trap.

Looking up, she found her captors eyes staring straight ahead, biting his lip - likely in anxiety. From the way the team was setting traps, Kanoko guessed either the Sound team hadn't been dealt with or her comrades were hot on their tail.

Quickly, she closed her eyes and calmed her breathing. She didn't want them to realize that she had awoken. They likely wouldn't care, due to the seal, but there was always the possibility that her conscious state would upset them.

And the last thing she needed was to be knocked out. Again.

With her eyes closed and her breathing even, she started focusing inward, deep into the pit of her stomach – where her chakra was located. The seal prevented the chakra from traveling out to her extremities – not stop her from manipulating the chakra at its core.

" _For every bit the genius Misako was – to the point that many of her seals had me completely baffled – she had one significant weakness…"_

Kanoko's eyebrow twitched as she struggled to manipulate the chakra, turning it into the yin element within her.

" _Every crippling, devastating seal or jutsu she created, she added in one flaw, a skeleton key – so to speak._ "

She felt a small snap inside before chakra flooded into her right arm – a burning pulse of pain ripping through her arm as it did – like the pin needles you feel after you lay on your arm, cutting off the blood.

" _It was both ingenious and devastatingly idiotic._ "

The yin chakra grew within her, slamming through the walls of the seal inside her. Left arm, right leg… She was almost there…

"… _But I suppose that is what love is: A drug and a poison._ "

.

Kanoko sucked in a large amount of air before her eyes snapped open again.

"Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!"

Thin, condensed needles made of water stabbed into the Cloud nin's chest.

"Ahh!" C shouted in agony, dropping Kanoko, who flipped around to land of her feet. The other two were quick to return to their leader's side.

"What the hell?! How's she get out of the seal?!" Atsui shouted, a wild and shocked look on his face.

C coughed out some blood before lifting his head to look at the Leaf nin in front of him, "…I don't know…"

Kanoko's eyes narrowed at the three before her. Slowly standing straight, she carefully moved her hand behind her leg. Slowly, she started making one handed seal as she spoke, "…All the effort you have gone through to capture me… It has me curious. Just what does the Cloud gain from someone like me?"

Samui glared at the child before her, but didn't respond.

C started to respond, who was starting to heal himself, but was cut off by Atsui, and "We would just waste time telling you because your memory will be wiped anyways!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "A memory wipe? Fascinating… I was not aware the Cloud had acquired such skills. I had always assumed you instilled fear into your captives – making them loyal to you. Perhaps even indoctrination or torture." Kanoko paused for a moment before continuing, "But a complete wipe?" Her eyes narrowed further, "I must not be your first victim from the Leaf…"

C gritted his teeth, " _Damnit… Now we really have no choice… Even if it means her death – she isn't leaving here with that information._ "

Samui looked over to C. When she caught his expression, she nodded.

Kanoko watched them carefully, " _The youngest is no longer with them… And their leader is gone as well._ " Kanoko focused her eyes on Samui, " _The woman is an analytical fighter – not likely to be fooled._ " Her eyes shifted to Atsui, " _A hothead, if I remember correctly. The girl seems to watch him carefully. Either she cares for him or doesn't trust him. Either way, I can use this to my advantage._ "

The female Nara narrowed her eyes on C, " _…That one will prove to be the most challenging. I didn't feel his presence the last time he snuck up on me. A sensor, most likely… Outside of that, I don't know anything about his skills._ "

C's hand stopped glowing over his wounded chest. He stood up slowly before speaking to Kanoko, "There's three of us and one of you. Surrender now and we won't have to harm you."

Kanoko gave him an expressionless look as she cocked an eyebrow, "Tell me… Has that line ever work for you?"

C frowned, "Then you give us no choice."

Samui raced ahead with her tanto out front. She leaped into the air to bring her sword down on Kanoko. Kanoko pushed back, "Water Style: Liquid Bullet!" A ball of water shot out from Kanoko straight towards Samui.

"Fire Style: Flame Sword!" Atsui called out, swinging his sword coated in fire at Kanoko.

"Water style: Water Wall!" A wall of water formed in front of Kanoko, blocking the attack as she dashed to the right. Running around the two, she started running through hand signs. Her eyes rapidly moved through the area.

C was nowhere to be found.

" _Damnit it_." Kanoko cursed in her head, before skidding to a halt – facing Samui and Atsui. Kanoko sucked in a large amount of air, "Water Style: Severing Wave!" A thick and condense jet of water shot out from Kanoko's mouth and ripped through the area – splitting the ground and cutting into trees.

The two Cloud ninja dived out of the way, hitting the ground at opposite ends.

Kanoko pushed off the ground and raced towards lying figure of Atsui.

"Atsui!" Samui called out to her brother.

"Damnit!" Atsui cursed as Kanoko threw kunai with explosive tags attached to them at the ground around Atsui.

The area exploded, a thick cloud of smoke covering the area. Samui held her breath, her eyes rapidly searching the area for her brother. She let out a large breath when she saw Atsui leaning again a tree panting, " _He's ok. Thank god…_ "

Samui was interrupted from her thoughts when she felt pain in her side, "Ahh!" Samui screamed out in pain as Kanoko kicked her into a tree before pinning Samui's shoulder to the tree with a kunai.

"AHH!" Samui screamed again as blood spurted out from her wound. Kanoko ignored her screaming as her eyes focused on the sword on Samui's back.

" _I'll be taking this back…_ " Kanoko thought, ripping her sword out of its sheath from Samui. Pulling her arm back, Kanoko spun the sword around and aimed it at Samui's neck.

"Lightning Illusion: Flash Pillar!"

Kanoko raised an arm to block the bright flash of light while squinting in order to catch a look at her attacker. Her eyes widened when she saw an outline of shadow – her vision harmed from the explosion of light – make a race towards her.

Kanoko leaped back, but that proved to be a mistake as Atsui appeared behind her with his sword. He swung it around and fire flew out at her.

" _Shit!_ " Kanoko cursed in her head before using the replacement jutsu – a log burning on the ground appeared where she was standing. Kanoko panted far up in the trees as she watched the Cloud nin below.

She wasn't given any time to think before the three charged the tree. Kanoko gritted her teeth in annoyance as she was forced from the tree by the cracking shock of lightning. Kanoko dashed around Samui and Atsui before pulling out four kunai attached to wires.

Kanoko threw her two kunai straight and the other two to either of her sides. The kunai hit the trees with a bang, emending themselves into the trees' trunk. Kanoko took out four more kunai and did the same in the opposite side – away from the Cloud nin – before taking the other end of the wires and attaching them to one kunai. Kanoko stabbed the last kunai at her feet, into the ground – her wires creating a web-like trap.

Samui and C eyed the wires carefully – unsure what Kanoko was planning.

Atsui, on the other hand, growled at Kanoko, "You think we can't navigate through a trap by a simple Leaf chunin?! Think again!"

Samui called out to her brother as he raced forward, moving through the wires and leaping into the air, "Fire Style: Soaring Flames!" Several balls of fire burst from Atsui, heading straight for Kanoko like a meteor shower. The ground below Kanoko exploded from the fire, creating a thick dust cloud.

"HYAA!" Atsui yelled, following his fire balls down and swinging his sword down were he last saw Kanoko at. Atsui hit the ground and nearly fell forward when his sword hit thin air. Angry that he missed, Atsui started looking around for the disappearing Nara.

Kanoko calmly walked into view, on the other side of the area of the Cloud shinobi.

Samui looked from her brother to the wires and back to Kanoko. Narrowing her eyes, she thought to herself, " _Why did she set that trap if it doesn't do anything?_ " Although suspicious, she exhaled in relief that her reckless brother was ok.

Kanoko's dull expression didn't change as she waited patiently for Atsui's next move.

Atsui smirked, "Some trap! Figured you Leaf nin were nothing but all bark!" Atsui pulled his sword back and raced towards Kanoko.

Samui's eyes went wide seconds before she let out a high pitched scream, "ATSUI! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Having never heard such terror in his sister's voice before, Atsui turned his head back to his sister while running. Samui was racing towards him and he didn't understand why.

Until a glow from below caught his attention.

The entire area beneath his feet shined dark pink, cracking from seal taking form.

.

.

.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

.

.

.

Rock, dirt, and plant life rained down as a large dust cloud took over the area – all a result from the massive blast.

Kanoko just stared at the debris, looking for a sign of her enemy – a detached arm or eyeball.

C's eyes were wide in panic. He leaped forward, pushing his chakra out and trying to find his teammates' energy signatures. Feeling a sudden pulse of energy head for him, C pushed back at the ground and barely escaping the sharp cut of Kanoko's blade.

Kanoko didn't pause in her movements as she followed him out of the dust cloud and into the thick forest.

Racing through the leaves and branches, C kept his eye on Kanoko as he focused chakra into his hands, " _There's no holding back with her – I've already lost too many teammates who've underestimated this chunin's resolve._ "

Kanoko threw a kunai at C, forcing him to flank to the side. Kanoko followed him through the bushes, but recoiled when C turned around, thrusting his glowing hands towards Kanoko.

Kanoko twisted her wrist around uncomfortably to strike his hand with her sword – forcing C to recoil instead. C skidded to a halt a few away from Kanoko while she eyed him suspiciously, " _…A high level medical ninja. Great. Just my luck._ "

Holding her sword so it pointed to the ground, Kanoko narrowed her eyes at C, "From what I've gathered, your intent was to take me from my village while branding me as a traitor – forcing my village to abandon me. After which, you planned on taking me to your village, Kumo, to wipe my memory." Kanoko raised her chin slightly, a thought suddenly coming to her, "…I had originally assumed your village wanted me for my abilities – abilities I would lose upon my memory being wiped. Surely you understand this?"

C was silent as he planned his next move, " _Getting too close is mistake. She's using that sword as if it's another limb. She also plans ahead and is quick with traps and diversions. …And she hasn't even attempted to use her clan jutsu yet._ " C focused on her chakra signature and was frustrated when he found her chakra fluctuating at a high rate, " _The amount of energy and mental concentration she is putting into keeping her chakra flow so random that I can't tack onto it and create a strong enough genjutsu is frustrating as well!_ "

Kanoko's eyes narrowed further when C didn't respond, " _None of this makes sense. It's sloppy and provides no real reward if they do complete their mission._ " Kanoko slid a foot back slowly and raised her sword, moving into an attack stance.

Again, Kanoko called out to the Cloud nin, "What is your intention in inciting this war between the Leaf and the Cloud?"

And again, C did not respond.

Shaking her head slightly, Kanoko exhaled in irritation before leaping forward – her sword glistening in the light as it glided through the air. The blade ripped through the air, causing the air to bend around it. As Kanoko closed in to deal her powerful blow, aiming straight for C's neck and slicing off his head, he called out.

"Your brother's here!" C shouted at Kanoko.

Kanoko stilled, her blade stopping a hair away from C's neck. She controlled her features as she slowly gliding her eyes to lock with his.

C swallowed in relief when the sword stopped in time. Watching his words carefully, he continued, "…Your brother is close by. He and his friends caught up to us while we were fighting those Sound shinobi."

" _Shikamaru? Tsunade sent a newly promoted chunin?! What was she thinking?!_ " Kanoko started cursing in her head, her breathing getting heavier in an attempt to calm her rage, " _And his friends? As in people his age?! Damnit! Fucking damnit!_ "

The Cloud nin waited for Kanoko to respond. He felt her chakra fluctuate and watch her breathing turn harsher, " _She's upset… Ok, just a little more._ "

"I don't believe you." Kanoko said suddenly. She didn't want to believe her grandniece would be so reckless and she didn't want to give the enemy something to hold over her.

C saw right through her tough act, "Then your brother will suffer the consequences."

Kanoko gritted her teeth, "…Explain."

"Those Sound shinobi were heavy combat fighters. While my team was designed more around stealth and speed, we aren't push overs and we were forced to flee our fight with them." C told her plainly.

Kanoko scoffed, "I'm not impressed. With your leader gone, you Cloud shinobi aren't much of a threat."

C narrowed his eyes, but controlled his tongue, "The chakra those Sound nin were using felt dark and unnatural, but it made them incredibly powerful. You may say we're not much of a threat, but do you think your brother and his friends would be able to defeat us as easily as you have?"

Kanoko was silent as she listened and thought over the Cloud nin's words. She had no reason to trust him and she wasn't sure where the benefit lied with him to tell her these facts. Telling her this information wouldn't make Kanoko spare his life nor would he be able to use this information to convince her to come with him to the Cloud.

Brown/reddish eyes snapped to C's calm ones, "…You're stalling."

C hissed in pain as Kanoko pressed her sword into the skin of his neck, "I have no idea what you're on about!"

Kanoko scoffed again, but ignored C in favor of pushing out her chakra and searching the surrounding area. The forest was quiet as even the birds and other animals had moved out of the area once the fighting started.

Light peeked through the heavy brush and the only movement was the leaves slow drifting to the ground. Kanoko gritted her teeth when she struggled to find anything. There could be no other reason why the Cloud nin would distract her like this.

C watched as Kanoko frustrated herself over finding something when there was nothing. C smirked internally. Slowly and lightly, he lifted his arm, " _Almost there._ "

Kanoko's eyes snapped to the movement in the corner of her eye, " _Wrong move, Cloud nin._ " Pulsing chakra into her arm and sword, Kanoko swiftly pulled back her sword and took a slice at C's neck.

C was just as quick as he leaned back while continuing to reach out towards Kanoko.

Blood squirted out in front of Kanoko's eyes, some of it hitting her cheek as she also inclined backwards to avoid C's glowing hand.

C's fingers grazed Kanoko's cheek, sending a large pulse of chakra into her head and through her entire body.

Kanoko felt the shock roll through her body and fry every one of her nerves.

Both fell to the ground, on their backs, with a soft thud. C's glowing hand quickly grasped around his neck. He coughed up blood, both out of his mouth and out his bleeding neck, while he struggle to keep his eyes open long enough to close the wound.

Kanoko twitched and jerked around on the ground. Shock after shock pulsed through her body. With each breath, she could feel her nerves scream out in agony. She only hoped that this point that she didn't bite her tongue in half and choke on her own blood.

Lying on the ground, restrained by their own pain, it was now a race.

A race to see who would recover first, and finish what they started.

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Shikamaru leaped through the trees. The plan, for as flimsy as it was, worked. Shikamaru had snuck out of sight while the others trapped the Sound shinobi in a fierce battle. Now, he only hoped that his friends would come out victorious.

Calming his breathing, Shikamaru focused his thoughts ahead. He needed to push his legs as hard as he could afford to. There was no telling how far ahead the team with Kanoko had gotten. And the traps they had left in their wake were succeeding in raising Shikamaru's irritation.

After deactivating another wire trap, Shikamaru pushed his feet off the ground and started racing through the woods again. His eyes stayed sharp on the area surrounding him, watching for more traps when he caught sight of something out of place.

Stopping to take a look at the tree near him, he placed his hand over the deep, but small gash in the tree. Turning around, he noticed several broken branches, " _There was a small fight here…_ "

Shikamaru followed the signs of battle for some time, until he came across a clearing.

The area was a mess. Pieces of the ground were missing and the surrounding trees had been blown back. Shikamaru sniffed the air and could still smell the dirt in the air, " _An explosion…_ " Shikamaru's eye then caught the glistering of metal and leaped over the rubble to the metal panted into a tree.

Pulling the kunai out, he analyzed it, " _It looks like a Leaf kunai… This must mean that Kanoko escaped!_ _Or another Leaf nin joined in the fight._ " Shikamaru's felt his heart start to beat harder, hope filling him and motivating him to move quicker.

Shikamaru's head jerked around, until he spotted a few snapped twigs and damaged branches. Shikamaru took off at an incredible speed, following the tracks he hopes were left by his sister.

" _I'm almost there Kanoko… Just wait a little longer…_ "

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"Where did that orange-clad, big mouthed, worthless buffoon go?!" Sasuke hissed low in annoyance as he dashed through the area in search of Konoha's number one knucklehead. He had told Naruto to stay put, but when he returned he was angry to find Naruto nowhere to be seen.

" _Doesn't he realize that his teammate's life is on the line?_ " Sasuke growled again. Stopping on a branch, Sasuke moved his head around, looking for a flash of orange or blonde hair, before pushing off.

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BAM!

"OOOF!" A scratchy voice called out.

"Arg." Sasuke hissed out, after colliding with the hard cranium of one Uzumaki Naruto. Holding a hand against the spot that Naruto hit with his head, Sasuke glared at Kanoko's teammate. Naruto was whining on the ground about Sasuke having a hard head before Sasuke growled louder, "Idiot! Where were you?! You're wasting time we can't afford to waste!"

Naruto continued to rub his head as he got up from the ground. Giving Sasuke a one eyed glare, Naruto grunted and answered, "I know!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to yell at Naruto again, but Naruto interrupted him, "I found some information! Kanoko's ok, just restrained – and if we hurry towards the northeast border we'll catch up to the guys that have her!"

Sasuke's eye wide slightly wide as Naruto told him what he had found. Shaking away his shock, Sasuke became immediately suspicious, "And you know all this, how?"

Naruto grinned cat like, puffing out his chest and giving Sasuke a cocky look, "I followed my natural, Hokage-in-the-making, instincts and went in search for a lead. I came across one of the guys that were fighting. He had a deep wound to his gut and after some well-placed tears and sob story, he revealed to me that Kanoko was taken by force, but wasn't harmed in the process." Naruto's grin grew larger, "He even told me a little about his team." Naruto finished with a loud chuckle.

Sasuke's eyebrows flew up before his rolled his eyes, " _Am I really surprised that class clown and resident trickster Uzumaki Naruto pull a fast one over some random shinobi?_ "

"Whatever." Sasuke responded simply before relaying what he was told, "I ran into the other shinobi, a man by the name Kabuto. He told me that there were powerful Sound shinobi ahead. Chances are, the team is already locked in a heated battle with them."

Naruto's eye went wide, "We need to go back them up!"

Sasuke nodded, "We should follow the tracks left by Shikamaru and the team, then relay what you learned about Kanoko and her kidnappers."

Naruto nodded, for once agreeing with Sasuke before taking off swiftly into the trees.

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Stepping out from the bush, Darui watched the leaves rustle from the movements of Naruto and his teammate. With a lazy smirk and a raised eyebrow, Darui thought, " _That little runt tricked me._ " Darui laughed lightly at himself before sobering up and thinking, " _But he didn't tell his teammate that he healed me…_ " Darui paused before thinking, " _…And more Sound shinobi ahead?_ "

Darui cursed lightly, " _I need to get to my team. The Leaf will likely spare them, but the Sound will do much worse if they're caught._ "

With that thought, Darui leaped into the trees and followed the two Leaf shinobi. He kept his distance while also moving gently in order to prevent himself from reopening his wound.

" _How many more ways can this mission go wrong?_ "

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Sakura panted as evaded another swift attack from the Sound brothers. Shock didn't even begin to describe what she felt as she watched **another person** split off from her enemy. She was now in a deep fist fight with the twins – just barely holding her own.

Flipping over Sakon, Sakura raced over to where Choji was on the ground panting. Although Sakura had her own enemy, correction: enemies, to deal with, she was keeping close to Choji. Shikamaru had pulled her to the side and asked her in all seriousness to keep close to Choji if he started to ingest some strange colored pills.

Just before her enemy spilt in two, her eye caught Choji sticking a round green food pill into his mouth before he threw his own enemy across the field.

Kneeling down to Choji, with her eyes still on Sakon and Ukon, she asked Choji if he was ok. He struggled to find air as he nodded to Sakura.

She didn't believe him.

Choji turned from Sakura over to Jirobo. Jirobo's skin had turned a dark red and he had black markings all over his body and face. Choji cursed quietly. He had been winning until Jirobo's chakra tripled, making his body morph – into a scary transformation.

And Choji was down to his last pill.

Sakura and Choji stood back to back as their enemies walked slowly towards them. Sakura looked up, wondering how Lee and Kiba were doing.

She quickly lost track of Kiba when he raced after the Sound kunoichi, and keeping track of Lee was a pipe dream. He and his opponent were moving at incredible speeds. The only thing she saw was the remnants of their attacks: Broken trees, ground impacts, sharp bones imbedded in to trees and ground… The last one had Sakura on edge the most.

Sakura turned her eyes back to the Sound twins. She felt her heart drop into her stomach as their skin morphed and turned hard. She knew they were playing with her – not taking her seriously at all.

And for the first time, Sakura didn't mind the insult.

Sakon and Ukon were quick, strong, had an impenetrable defense – then take all that and times it by two. Sakura really cursed her luck.

Sakura's eyes snapped back to Choji when she heard the snapping of a lid. Immediately, her eyes caught the red pill in Choji's hand and jerked her own hand out, grabbing his wrist tightly.

"Shikamaru said you'll die if you take that pill!" Sakura whispered aggressively, her hold tightening onto Choji.

Choji tried to gently pull away, but Sakura was determined. Choji lightly glared at Sakura, "If I don't take it, then were both going to die and these guys will win!"

Sakura frowned, believing Choji, but still unsure about letting him do this. Turning her eyes sharply back to Choji's, Sakura was firm in her decision, "We need to find another way. Even if you take that pill, there's still a chance that it won't be enough to defeat Jirobo. And even then, you won't have enough energy to help me defeat these two – and I'm not going to last long on my own."

Choji turned to take a look at the two Sakura was referring to. There were patiently waiting, with sick grins full of promise plastered all over their faces.

" _Sakura's right._ " Choji thought, taking a good look at the enemies surrounding them, " _I can't let Shikamaru down by dying and leaving Sakura to face these guys._ " Choji took another look at the twins' crazy grins, " _They'll kill me, but they'll torture Sakura…_ "

"We need to find a way to escape." Choji said finally, not seeing any other way out of their predicament.

Sakura, also coming to the same thought, looked around – racking her brain for something that would work.

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Kiba panted as he and Akamaru repelled another attack from the large giants. He skidded back on his feet before jumping in the air and knocking one of the giants back with his Fang Over Fang attack. The cub of another swung down towards Kiba's exposed back.

"RAWR!" Came from Akamaru, who also used Fang Over Fang to drill into the side of the monster attacking Kiba.

"Thanks Akamaru!" Kiba shouted with a grin, turning back to his real opponent: The flute playing kunoichi. Tayuya had changed in appearance, like her comrades, and now sported ram like horns and darkened skin.

Tayuya was cursed internally when she saw Kiba's eyes lock onto her form. Jumping back to avoid an attack, she blew on her flute – bidding her giants to reform around her protectively. Tayuya cursed her luck while staring at the tired, but still cocky face of one, Inuzuka Kiba, " _I couldn't be more poorly matched!_ "

The Sound kunoichi growled lowly before filling the area with her musical tune, " _This bastard is a mid to short range fighter – while I'm a long range fighter only._ " Tayuya's eyes moved to Kiba's copy, Akamaru, " _And that dog is keeping me from landing a hit on its owner._ "

Tayuya suddenly smirked, her yellow eyes locking in on Akamaru's back. Lifting her flute up for a different melody, she turned her cruel eyes towards Kiba – who was moving rapidly through the trees to grab her.

" _We'll see how energetic you are when your dog's life hangs in the balance._ "

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"Ahh!" Lee screamed out in pain as he was shot through the air before hitting the ground roughly. Lee quickly kicked the ground to move out of the way. Large needles made of pure human bone stabbed into the ground where Lee was.

The assault of bones continued, forcing Lee to stumble farther and farther back – being afforded no time to recover his stance.

Lee hissed in pain, yelping slight when another bone embedded itself into his arm. He was now bleeding in several places. Some of it was from the times Lee tried to get a hit on Kimimaro's body, only to have a bone stick out his body and stab Lee, and some of it was from the various types of bones Kimimaro was throwing at him.

Kimimaro stopped his assault to observe his opponent. He could tell the Leaf shinobi was struggling to keep up. He had lost a lot of blood and the only attacks he seemed to possess were taijutsu moves.

" _It was unfortunate for him that he picked me as an opponent._ " Kimimaro thought, raising his bone slightly. Staring Lee down, Kimimaro spoke, "You are quick. I've only met a handful of shinobi capable of hitting me or evade my attacks. You have done both."

Lee panted but responded to the compliment, "Thank you. You too are a formidable opponent. Your ability is strange and difficult to repel – or break through." Lee took a moment to catch his breath before yelling out, "But you will not defeat me! I made a promise on my honor as a shinobi of the Leaf that I would bring my comrade back – while also keeping my teammates safe!"

Kimimaro stared blankly at Lee, as if he didn't even hear him. After a moment of silence, Kimimaro spoke, "I made a promise too." Kimimaro closed his eyes, "I promised my body, mind, and soul to serve Orochimaru-sama in any way he sees fit." Kimimaro's fists clenched, "…Unfortunately, I failed him. I could not overcome my body's weakness and in that moment, my life was over. I had failed in my life's purpose. What else was there?"

Kimimaro opened his dead eyes to stare into Lee's dark ones, "And then Kabuto told me of your comrade and how, with her, we would be able to bring back Orochimaru-sama – and making him even stronger than before."

Lee's eyes went wide, his mouth in a deep frown, "What do you mean? How do you plan on using Kanoko to bring your master back to life?!"

Kimimaro took a step forward, his bone sword raised, "…It doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon anyways."

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"GYAH!" Kanoko screamed, flipping over onto her belly. The shocks were getting worse with each movement. Struggling to push herself up with her arms, Kanoko panted from the pain and exertion. After what felt like hours, she pushed off the ground and was now kneeling.

Her lungs burned from her heavy panting and her body continued to fight her as she picked her sword off the ground and lifted herself onto her feet. Now standing, Kanoko turned to look at her opponent.

She could see the green glow of medical ninjutsu and correctly guessed he was trying to heal his wound. On the ground, staining the grass under his neck was a thin layer of blood. Even if Kanoko didn't take off his head, like she intended, hitting the neck always proved useful – if only to send the enemy into shock from the blood loss.

Roughly pushing her legs forward, Kanoko took slow steps towards C, the pain in her body starting to fizz away. Slowly, Kanoko walked over to C's bleeding form. Standing just next to it, she looked down at him – giving him an expressionless look.

C's eyes caught Kanoko's movements and struggled to heal his wound faster. Once she made it to his side, his whole body froze in fear as he gazed up into her cold, emotionless eyes.

Kanoko spun her sword around to point the tip down towards C's chest. Holding it in the air, Kanoko spoke in a blank, deep voice, "I've been asking you what your village wants from me, but you have refused to answer." Kanoko paused to narrow her eyes, "…I'm starting to think this isn't about me."

C moved his eyes from Kanoko's face to the sword press lightly into his chest. Between the gash in his neck and the sword a hair away from his chest, C was struggling to find air – terrified by which way he was going to die.

Kanoko blankly watched her opponent start to panic. It had been sometime since she had seen this look. It was a common sight for him during the war, before Konoha was formed. Tobirama didn't like to waste a kill – anything he could learn from his prey before ending their life was worth the time it took. Tobirama only stopped doing it around his brother because he didn't like the way Hashirama looked at him: Like he was a stranger who very presence made him sick to the stomach.

Swirling the sword over her hand, Kanoko brought it down into C's thigh, making him scream out in agony. Holding it there, Kanoko looked over to C's face and locking eyes with him, "Why are you really after me?"

C's eyes squeezed shut at the pain in his thigh, biting the inside of his mouth to distract himself. Looking up at Kanoko, he spoke in a choppy voice, "T-The jutsu… The… Fourth's jutsu…" C coughed up more blood, his chest burning as he does so, "…We were ordered to… Grab you… F-for your skills in… Fuinjutsu – Ahh!."

C screamed in agony as Kanoko lifted her sword, only to bring it sharply back down. Blood gushed out on the ground below as the hole in his thigh grew.

Kanoko leaned in close to C's face, her hand wrapped tightly around her sword, "Stop lying."

The Cloud nin wheezed the air slowly out, "I'm not lying!"

Kanoko's voice dropped an octave, "You are. …And I don't have the patience to continue playing your game." And with that, Kanoko stood up, slowly pulling her sword out of C's body as she did.

C just whimpered, his hand immediately reaching out to his thigh to try to heal the damage. C looked up to Kanoko's cold, blank eyes – his own were wide with fear, wondering what she would do to him.

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Lifting her sword up, her eyes locked on the form below her. Slowly pulling her arm back, she took aim.

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"NO! PLEASE!" C cried, tears streaming down his face.

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The sound of metal hitting skin was the only thing heard as thick droplets of deep crimson blood stained the area.

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Shikamaru stopped suddenly on a branch. He had been following the tracks his sister had left for some time now and was starting to get suspicious. When he recognized a unique moss patter appear not once or twice, but three times, his suspicion turned into full paranoia.

Halting his movements, he held his hands up to make a hand sign, "Kai!"

The area around Shikamaru started to morph and he found himself in a clearing he didn't recognize. He was standing near a river leading to a large waterfall. At the top of the cliff, he noticed the two statues depicting two of most powerful men to ever walk this land: Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

Shikamaru was caught staring at them for a moment longer than he intended before turning his head forward again and looking around the area, " _Why would someone bring me here, then leave?_ " He started to walk around, kicking up dust from the grassless ground as he walked.

" _Perhaps I ended their jutsu before they could complete their plan._ " Shikamaru thought, casually walking forward – his eyes peeled on the shadows around him.

After walking around the area, Shikamaru turned his feet towards the water and debated walking across it to investigate the other side. "Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered when he couldn't make up his mind.

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"You remind me of a man I once knew."

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Light chuckling was heard from behind Shikamaru, making him turn around quickly. All he could see was the outline of a shadow emerging from the darkness of the forest.

Slowly, long, fair, shapely legs glided back and forth, hips swaying as they moved. A thin, glimmering material fluttered behind as it molded around the bare legs.

"He'd always mutter something underneath his breath when he was stuck on a puzzle or when too much physical exertion was asked of him." The woman stepped fully into the light, revealing her long golden locks and pale skin.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the woman before him. She was wearing a short white and maroon kimono and kunoichi heels. He could tell she was a ninja, but she wasn't wearing any village insignias.

"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked immediately, stopping her from moving towards him.

Full rosy lips twitched into a smirk, before quickly moving back into a kind smile, "A gentleman always introduces himself before asking a lady her name."

Shikamaru gave her a bored look, "You lured me out here. I don't intend to stick around to learn why."

The woman was quick to respond in a light, airy tone, "Even if I told you it involved your sister?"

Shikamaru stiffened.

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After willing himself to relax his muscles, not wanting to be stiff if he needed to escape quickly, Shikamaru spoke tentatively, "What do you know about my sister?"

The woman took a few steps to her right, her long wavy blonde hair flowing gentle in the wind as she moved, "Quite a bit." She smiled softly at Shikamaru, who only tensed at the look, "Your sister is in quite the situation…"

The woman paused to look over her shoulder, then back at Shikamaru, "...And she's not the only one."

Shikamaru's jaw tightened, thinking about his team, " _I have to have faith in them. I can't let this woman get under my skin._ "

She continued to walk slowly back and forth, clicking her heels on the hard ground as she stepped, "…Since you seem like the kind of young man who would appreciate a direct conversation, I'll be blunt with you. …Shikamaru."

Shikamaru flinched when he heard his name roll off of her tongue.

She continued, placing a hand on her wide hip, "…When I was first told about your sister, I had thought, "This is it…"" The woman brought her dark blue eyes to meet Shikamaru's and with a cruel smirk, she spoke, " _ **This is my chance to get back at that bitch.**_ "

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Kanoko yanked her sword out of the corpse. Droplets of blood flew out as she did so.

" _Now that the Cloud threat has been neutralized, I will need to deal with the Sound._ " Kanoko thought, while turning around. Taking light steps on the thick grass below, Kanoko closed her eyes to focus on nearby chakra signatures.

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Low chuckling moved through the area, resonating from behind Kanoko.

Tensing before looking over her shoulder, Kanoko noticed the deep laughter coming from the Cloud nin she just killed. Narrowing her eyes, the dark haired kunoichi took slow and careful steps towards the corpse.

C's blood soaked face turned towards the young Nara. He laid flat on his back with blood pooled around him. Catching Kanoko's fixated gaze, his face broke out into a cruel grin.

Kanoko paused in her step, her sword arm twitching in anticipation of an attack. Exhaling through her nose slowly, Kanoko spoke low and deep, "…How are you still alive… I stabbed you through the heart."

C's eyebrow rose as his grin turned into a smirk, "Perhaps your age has made you sloppy. …Tobirama."

Kanoko eyes were glued to the talking corpse before her while trying to focus all of her energy on the enemy and not allow her shock to show. Her jaw tightened, forcing herself to stay silent. She needed to calm down before she would be able to think and speak rationally.

The blonde waited for Kanoko to rebut his statement. When moments went by, and she had failed to speak, he frowned at her. Glaring at her form, he spoke in a cold tone, "I hate you."

Kanoko was pulled from her thoughts. Raising an eyebrow, she asked silently for him to clarify.

C's teeth grinded together before growling out, "I DESPISE you!"

Both of Kanoko's eyebrows rose this time, "…You don't even know me."

The Cloud nin started chuckling low, "Oh… But I do." A dark and angry smirk took over his face, "You're the one that took everything from me. My people, my home, my best friend…" He paused, his breathing getting labored and his eyes turning wild as they fixated on Kanoko's feet, "And most of all. The one thing I valued and loved over everything else…"

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His head snapped up to meeting Kanoko in the eyes.

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Kanoko froze. Her heart stopped beating and her breath stilled. Something in the back of her mind screamed at her, " _Look away!_ " Kanoko's eyes snapped away from his face – her eyes wide in completely shock.

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Blood soaked eyes with swirling black dots inside stared at Tobirama's reincarnated form.

And with two words, Kanoko knew exactly who she was dealing with.

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"…My brother. You took my little brother from me."

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"And I'm going to do the same to you."

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"This time, I'm going to take everything until you have nothing left."

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Shikamaru took a step back when he felt a shiver run up his spine. He cursed lightly when he realized another step, and he would be in the water. Turning back to the smirking woman, Shikamaru's eyes turned harsh, "What did my sister ever do to you?"

The woman's grin grew, "Oh, I've never met your sister."

Shikamaru gave her an annoyed look, "Then why do you want revenge on her?"

"I never said I did." Light chuckling followed.

Shikamaru cursed in annoyance, " _Is there some sort of sign on my head that says, please, speak cryptic to me?!_ "

Sensing his frustration, the blonde let out a small laugh before continuing, "But… After watching you lead your team through the many trials this forest has to offer…" She locked onto Shikamaru with her eyes, "…I'm willing to make you a bargain."

Shikamaru responded with silence and a suspicious gaze before tentatively asking, "…And what is that?"

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The blonde smirked, "Your life, in exchange for your sister's."

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 **Author's Note:**

 **A few people have asked me about pairings and I wanted to explain why I'm not going to be very clear with the pairings, yet. When they become teenagers (in Shippuden), I plan on playing around with these characters – a lot.** **Most of it will be for laughs, while some of it will be drama for the plot, so if everyone knows what the pairing intentions are, then it will kill some of the plot (and some of the wtf's/laughs)! :D**

 **Also, as of right now, I don't have strong intentions to focus too much on romance (besides the laughs of it and some plot movement). This might change, or I may make a side series for requested pairings. Once I finally finish this story (which is sooo far from being done lol), I was planning asking you guys what one-shots or small series you would like to see.**

 **I need a lot more experience writing, so I don't mind writing several small stories – maybe even another big one! So start thinking and let me know what you would like to see as a side series, new story, one-shot, or whatever!**

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 **Also, I wanted to apologize! It's been so looong since I've updated… My time to write has been severely cut due to work. These next few months are going to be hard as I'm the only person that conducts hiring at my job and I need to hire six… And we're doing a remodel at work and I am the part-time IT person, so I've been spending a lot of time and energy on that too.**

 **But I promise I am never giving up on this story! No matter what! :D**

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 **THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR LEAVING REVIEWS (400+ YAY!) and FOLLOWS/FAVORITES! YOU GUYS (and GIRLS) ARE THE BEST! :D :D :D**

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 **As always, let me know how I did! What you liked the best and what I can do better! If you tell me what I like, I can incorporate more of it in! :D**


	33. Chapter 31

_**Time: Zero Hundred Hours**_

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 _ **If you had to choose…**_

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 _._

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" _Breathe…_ "

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Wide eyes stared ahead.

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" _Breathe… Come on…_ "

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Water and blood mixed together as it traveled down from his forehead – droplets falling from his nose.

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" _Just breathe…_ "

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 _ **Between your friends…**_

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His chest heaved. His lungs shuttering each time he took a breath.

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" _Breathe…_ "

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His hands couldn't grip a kunai, they were shaking that badly.

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" _Come on! Breathe!_ "

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 _ **And your family…**_

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The rain continued to beat down on his beaten form.

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" _Breathe!_ "

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"ROOOOOOOOAAAARRR!"

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Orange chakra ripped through the field, burning debris and pushing down trees.

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"NAARRRRRUTOOOOO!"

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"AHHHHHHHH!"

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Crimson flew through the air, staining the ground and water a deep red.

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 _ **Which would you choose?**_

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" _I can't breathe!_ "

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His eyes, wide and full of terror, could not be pulled from the scene before him.

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 _ **Or would you let them both down?**_

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Water and mud flew up as she skidded across the field before pushing off the ground with a low growl. Whipping her sword through the rain, lightning crackled around her. She cut through the black tendrils and smashed her foot into her enemy's chest – sending the man flying through the air and crashing into the water below.

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"CHIDORI!"

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The chirping of a thousand birds traveled through the air, before ending with a loud boom. Orange chakra met white chakra with a loud boom. The shock wave pushed the two users away from each other. The one covered in orange/red chakra quickly recovered and shot through the air towards the other.

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"RASENGAN!"

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Energy swirled, distorting the air and water as it gained power and density.

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"RASENGAN!"

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 _ **Days Before**_

 _ **.**_

Click.

Click.

Click.

The sound of heels lightly clicking against the floor echoed in the hallway. Long, fair, shapely legs glided back and forth, hips swaying as they moved. A thin, glimmering material fluttered behind as it molded around the bare legs.

The clicking stopped as the vixen turned into a room, leaning casually against the door frame. A deep red, manicured fingernail pressed playfully into full rosy lips. With a smirk, the full figured woman jutted her hips off of the doorframe and quietly walked up behind the sole occupant in the room.

With a sweet giggle, she wrapped her arms around the man's muscular waist, pressing her soft bosom into his back. She felt the man relax in her grip as she started moving her hands sensually over his chest.

"Mmmm… Asami…" The man grunted out.

The woman smirked at his voice, "So tense, Raikage-sama…"

Ay growled lowly, "You know I prefer Ay, when it's just the two of us."

Asami brought a hand up to her mouth to giggle as he turned to face her. Looking up at him with a smirk, she spoke lowly, "Now I know you're stressed." Pushing him down onto the chair with her hand on his chest, she leaned in and started kissing his neck, "Tell me… Ay… What has you in knots?"

Ay groaned lowly at her touches, " _This woman will be the death of me…_ " Ay brought his hands up to Asami's back and pulled her into his lap and tight against his body.

Placing a finger on his lips, Asami smirked, "Ah, ah, ah. You tell me what's bothering you first, and then… maybe." She finished by leaning back, her long blonde hair fluttering over her shoulder at the movement.

Growling lightly, the Raikage spoke, "It's this mission…"

Asami's lips morphed into a smirk, "Now, now. You've got your best men on the task. You know Darui won't let you down."

Ay sighed before turning his head with a grunt, "I know that." He shook his head before continuing, "…I just don't understand what possessed me to create this mission anyways." Ay lifted Asami off of his lap and walked around the chair to the window, "I'm risking war with the Leaf, all over one small girl…"

Asami frowned before quickly placing a smirk back on her face. Whipping her long golden hair behind her, she swayed her hips back and forth as she approached. Getting close, she placed her hand on Ay's arm and slid it up to massage his shoulder, "Don't doubt yourself now… You're doing this for the benefit of your village and its people… Think of the potential this child has… What skills and abilities she would bring to the Land of Lightning…"

The Raikage rubbed his head, feeling the sudden onset of a headache. He had been having so many lately and the constant pain was taking a mental toll on him.

Wrapping her arms around his chest, she maneuvered around to face him. Bringing her hands up, she cupped the sides of his face, bringing it close to hers. With a smirk she spoke in a sultry voice, "…If you're so worried, send me." Asami leaned up and blew warm air against his ear as she spoke, "It would be my pleasure…"

Groaning lowly, Ay brought his hand up to tangle it in her silky golden tresses. As he brought his face close to hers, she placed a finger on his lips, "Ah, ah."

Untangling herself from the Raikage, she straightened out her attire before giving him a wink, "Can't have me too tired for my long trip to the Land of Fire… Now can we?"

Ay grunted, but crossed his arms and nodded.

Giggling lightly, Asami placed a hand on Ay's chest and leaned in to give him a light, but long kiss on the lips. The Raikage groaned as she pulled back, getting frustrated with her teasing.

Licking her lips, Asami turned on her heel and casually walked passed Ay, swaying her hips sensually as she moved. Just before she passed through the door, she spoke in a low voice, "I'll be back before you know it."

Asami smirked as she thought to herself, " _With Shikaku's child in tow._ "

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00000000000000000000000000

 _ **Several Hours Before**_

Neji panted hard as he leaned his back on a tree. Blood was pouring down his back from several holes and a small piece of his shoulder was missing.

Neji's eyes shifted up at the trees, " _He's knows the Byakugan's weakness! He knows about my blind spot!_ " His breath wheezed out through his teeth as he struggled with his chakra. He was pushing the energy out and around him, in order to fault the arrow's trajectory – the arrow from his enemy.

"The weakest one in the game always goes down first!" A booming voice shouted from above, pushing Neji to keep moving.

He pushed off from the tree and limped away quickly, trying to zigzag around as he did so.

Kidomaru spat out another arrow, this one attached to a thread leading back to him. Taking aim, he shot.

Neji stumbled around two trees before hiding behind a third. The arrow pierced through the tree and hit the ground with a "boom" – leaving a gaping hole. Neji coughed out blood as his eyes shift to his bleed cheek – a new wound caused by this most recent attack, " _Just barely…_ "

Kidomaru growled, his eyes narrowing in confusion, " _...The trees. They threw off the arrow's trajectory._ " His frown turned into a smirk as another, sharper, stronger arrow grew from his mouth, " _No tree nor rock will save him from this one._ "

Neji leaned his head forward, exhausted, " _Is this the end?_ " A flash of Naruto appeared in his head.

 _ **Growling lowly, Naruto shakily pulled his body up, using one limb at a time. Getting into a standing position, with his body wavering back and forth, he looked at Neji and laughed when Neji questioned him, "How?!"**_

 _ **Naruto answered low and tired, "Like… I said… I just… Don't know… When to give up…"**_

Neji smiled to himself, "Never giving up, huh?" Neji chuckled low, "…It's not like I could dodge it anyways."

Kidomaru placed the polished arrow into his bow, " _He stopped moving… Well, better safe than sorry._ " He pulled back as hard as he could, " _Striking accuracy: 120% - Maximum Destructive Power!_ "

He let the arrow go. It ripped through the forest, pulling up dirt, pushing through trees – destroying everything in its path as it moved.

Listening to its destructive power, Neji stilled, before turning around swiftly – facing the arrow head on.

Watching as the gap between him and death rapidly shortened, he shot a hand out in one last attempt, " _If I can grab the thread, I can funnel my chakra and gentle fist attack through it – getting a direct hit on the enemy._ "

Still, watching it move, knowing that the pain would be unbearable and the blood loss would likely kill him once his adrenaline drained…

" _You can do this. Remember why you're doing this. Don't hesitate. Don't back down._ " Neji told himself, sweat and blood mixing as it rolled down his face.

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The arrow snapped through the tree Neji leaned on before impacting on the ground – leaving an even bigger gap in the earth then before.

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Opening his eyes slowly, Neji hand jerk to his chest – looking for the thread. When he could find none, he looked down, " _He missed?_ "

Suddenly, it occurred to Neji that he was no longer in front of the tree, where he once stood. In fact, he was a good distance away, hidden in the bushes.

"What are you doing out here and who are you fighting?" A deep and scratchy voice spoke to him.

Twisting his head around and tilting it up, Neji froze at the person before him, " _Kanoko's and Shikamaru's father. The Nara Clan Head."_

Shikaku waited a moment before speaking swiftly, "I don't believe time is a luxury we can afford to waste."

Neji shook himself out of his stupor and spoke quickly, "I was selected by Nara Shikamaru to join a group of Leaf shinobi, whose mission was to bring Kanoko back to Konoha." Neji turned his head back to where he knew Kidomaru lay, "The enemy is Kidomaru of the Sound. We encountered their group in our pursuit. He is highly skill in long range attacks and he is able to access a dark and abnormal chakra – multiplying the power of his attacks."

Shikaku listened carefully. With two simple questions, he now found himself pressed to ask a hundred more. Did the Hokage send his son on this mission, or did Shikamaru take it upon himself? How was the Sound involved? Did they learn anything about his daughter and her actions – if they were hers to begin with? Who all was on this mission? Where was his son now?

Instead of drilling the Hyuuga like he wanted to, Shikaku focused his frustrations on the enemy before him. Until he had cleared the area and –

"Another arrow is heading our way!" Neji shouted.

Shikaku rapidly twisted his hands into a seal, " _Shadow Barrier._ "

A thick, black, window like guard appeared in front of the two. Kidomaru's attack impacting the dark barrier with a loud, cracking sound before the arrow shattered into a hundred pieces.

" _Impossible…_ " Kidomaru thought from a distance. All three of his eyes were wide in shock, " _There's no way! Who is this new comer?! How dare he get between me and my prey!_ "

Growling, Kidomaru created another arrow and placed it in his bow, taking aim for another attack. He cursed when he realized he let them out of his sights. Moving his arrow point around, trying to pin them down with his eagle eye vision. Getting more and more frustrated when he couldn't pin them down, Kidomaru started shouting in anger.

"COME OUT YOU LITTLE WEAKLING! YOU'RE ONLY PROLONGING YOUR OWN SUFFERING!"

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"Kids these days… Reckless, loud, and incredibly idiotic."

Kidomaru whipped around, shooting off an arrow towards the voice as he moved. His arrow swooshed through the illusion before Kidomaru could get a look at who he was dealing with.

"Try again."

Spinning around, Kidomaru let off three arrows – branching out to catch the enemy. When he once again hit thin air, Kidomaru roared in anger, "SHOW YOURSELF!"

The air still as silence stretched over the area.

"Nah. Too much work…"

"GRAWR!" Kidomaru called out, randomly shooting off arrows and kunai in all directions. Animals caught in the attack fell to the ground – dead – while the leaves of the trees flew around in the air.

Kidomaru panted as he stopped to scan over his destruction. Waiting for groans of pain or screaming, Kidomaru stilled. When his own panting was the only sound to travel to his ears, he cried out again in frustration.

"DAMN YOU!"

"Please. I haven't even done anything yet." A bored and tired voice broke through, before the owner of the voice stepped out from behind the leaves.

Kidomaru almost cried in happiness, "Big mistake!" Kidomaru went to move his arms, to aim a devastating attack at the spiky haired man before him, but found his arms not responding to his command.

Kidomaru felt the sweat travel down his head as he realized his mistake. His eyes traveled to the branch he was standing on. Connecting Kidomaru to the Leaf nin was a long thick shadow, " _I spent so much time and energy looking for the Leaf scum that I didn't focus on the attack coming from underneath!_ "

Shikaku's half lidded eyes stared at the deformed boy before him. Shikaku moved his hands into different seals as he spoke, "Normally I would capture you and bring you back to my village for questioning, but…"

Kidomaru felt the shadow climb his chest before wrapping around his neck. His panicked eyes shot to Shikaku's cold brown ones. Kidomaru opened his mouth to plead for his life, but was interrupted by Shikaku.

"I don't have the time."

A loud snap followed.

Shikaku lazily threw the dead shinobi to the side – not even bothering to watch the body snap branches on the way down.

Leaping down and racing over to where he left Hyuuga Neji, Shikaku start to quickly patch up the boy's larger, more life threatening, wounds.

Neji panted heavily in pain. Sweat was pouring buckets down his face and back, and he was starting to come off of his adrenaline high – leaving nothing but the pain to keep him company. His eyes tiredly drifted to Shikaku's work on his wounds.

"I don't know everything, but you need to know all of what I've learned, Nara-sama." Neji told him, struggling to find the proper words.

Shikaku smirked slightly at the fighting boy in front of him, "You can call me Shikaku." He waited for Neji to nod before continuing, "And it will take me a moment to patch your wounds enough for you to travel back to Konoha. So, tell me all that you know."

Neji nodded, not really liking the idea of being sent back, but understanding the reason why. He would be nothing but a liability in his condition, "Lady Tsunade assigned Shikamaru to bring Kanoko back with a team of his choice. We were travelling through the forest when Kiba and I noticed another fight taking place…"

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Shikaku raced through the forest, his chakra pushing him forward at an incredible pace. His eyes remained sharp on the area around him, while his mind drifted back to the information given to him by the young Hyuuga.

" _Genin! She sent genin after my daughter!_ " Shikaku frowned, his entire body filling with rage, " _She, of all people, should know just how dangerous Kanoko is. Whether she left willingly or was taken – this was clearly an A-ranked mission from the beginning. Not something that can be left to genin!_ "

Shikaku loosened his fists, trying to keep his temperament cool in order to avoid acting recklessly, " _Choza, Tsume, Hiashi, and Kakashi… Even Gai… They are not going to be any happier than I when they learn of this. And the Harunos have close ties with a few civilian elites… When they hear that their daughter was involved in such a dangerous mission… And being former shinobi themselves, they won't be fooled easily._ "

"Damn it Tsunade… If I wasn't so angry about you placing my only children in danger, I might actually care about the large piece of shit you just stepped into." Shikaku muttered, pushing more chakra in order to go even faster – leaving cracks in the branches as he moved.

"Woah! Kanoko's Tou-san! What are you doing here?!" A loud and unmistakable voice called out to him.

Lifting an eyebrow, a familiar blonde, followed by the Leaf's last Uchiha, came into view from behind the leaves. Slowing down slightly for them to keep up with his pace, Shikaku spoke to them, "Report. What did you find?"

Naruto opened his mouth and closed it, surprised by Shikaku's bluntness. Naruto had been invited over to the Nara's several times – normally around dinner time since Kanoko's mother, Aunty Yoshino as he liked to call her, thought he didn't eat enough and was determined to feed him until he felt ready to pop. Aunty Yoshino also liked to praise Naruto, since he was typically shy and polite around her – not willing to get on her bad side, having heard the horror stories from both Kanoko and Shikamaru. Aunty Yoshino often commented how great it would be to have a son like Naruto – making Naruto smile brightly, as he tried to ignore the lazy glare from Shikamaru.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto and turned to Shikaku while keeping the pace, "We were instructed to investigate a battle occurring between an unknown enemy and a possible Leaf shinobi. When we arrived, the battle had been settled – by an explosion." Sasuke paused to look at Naruto, "We split off and investigated. One of the shinobi was a man called Kabuto. He fought like to a Leaf shinobi, but was responsible for activating the seal on Gaara's neck during the Suna Invasion."

Shikaku nodded, "Were you able to capture him or learn anything from him?"

Sasuke paused before answering, "No. He escaped. I learned only that there are more Sound shinobi in the forest and are likely in battle with Shikamaru's team as we speak."

" _Kabuto, huh? Well, this just got a whole lot worse…_ " Shikaku thought as his eyes locked onto Sasuke's turned head. He knew the Uchiha was holding back, but was stopped from interrogating him when Naruto popped in-between them.

"I found the other ninja and he told me about Kanoko!"

Shikaku reluctantly turned his gaze away from Sasuke and focused on Naruto, "Tell me what you know, Naruto."

Naruto nodded with a smile, "I found the other shinobi lying on the ground, bleeding heavily from the attack. He didn't have any insignias on him, but he was dressed in gray clothes with white armor." Naruto paused to smirk and rub his nose in accomplishment, "I turned up the tears and gave him my sob story. Within minutes, he told me that he and his team had kidnapped Kanoko, but they didn't plan on hurting her. He told me that they would be making a run for the northeast border of the Land of Fire and that they weren't very strong."

Shikaku nodded slowly, digesting the information provided to him, " _Heading to the northeast border and wearing white armor… The Cloud. No doubt._ " Shikaku cursed in his head, " _I told her that she was attracting too much attention. Why can't she listen to me like most little girls? How come I got the most troublesome children out of the bunch?_ " Shikaku let out a long sigh.

Letting his eyes drift back to the two boys next to him, he spoke, "From what you're describing, it sounds like the shinobi you came across was a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Shinobi from the Cloud have a wide variety of ninja skills, but most base their attacks around Kenjutsu – combining sword techniques with ninjutsu." Shikaku paused, "…And of course, being located in the Land of Lightning, some of their lightning jutsu can be devastating."

Sasuke looked down at his hand, the one he used primarily for his own lightning jutsu.

"It doesn't matter if they can spit fire from their butts! We aren't going home until we have Kanoko back!" Naruto shouted with an angry look covering his face.

Shikaku chuckled quietly as he gave Naruto a smile. Looking ahead again, the branches passing in a blur, Shikaku spoke again – this time with a sober tone, "…I'm more concerned with the appearance of these Sound shinobi."

Sasuke was the one to speak up this time, "I noticed that you flinched when I mentioned the name Kabuto. He was at the Suna Invasion, and now Konoha's jounin commander is flinching at the mention of his name." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Just who is this man?"

Shikaku's dark eyes narrowed at Sasuke's rudeness, "Piece of advice kid: Don't insult your superiors – especially when they are having a particularly bad day."

Naruto's head swiveled back and forth from Kanoko's father to his childhood rival. Confused by the sudden animosity coming from both, Naruto spoke up, "OK, I get that these Sound ninja are bad – I mean they attacked all those innocent people in Suna, but why are you so worried about them? Isn't the Cloud the big problem here?"

Shikaku turned to Naruto, "…The Cloud has Kanoko and that is a serious problem, but…" Shikaku paused to eye Sasuke, who was staring ahead again, "Chances are, the team sent to infiltrate and kidnap my daughter, specialize in track and capture tactics – a theory confirmed by your conversation with the injured Cloud shinobi."

Naruto nodded, waiting for the elder Nara to continue.

"The Village Hidden in the- Sound is a recently constructed shinobi "village" that was founded by the sannin, Orochimaru."

Both boys tensed at the name, remembering their last encounter with the snake-like sannin. Sasuke's vision blurred slightly – getting lost in his thoughts, " _Orochimaru… Even with all twelve of us, we were no match. We were lucky to get away with our lives…_ " Sasuke's fist tightened, " _Both Itachi and Orochimaru are traitors to the Leaf. Is there some kind of connection?_ "

Sasuke turned to look at Kanoko's father, " _…Kanoko was the one that removed the seal placed on me by Orochimaru. Could he be seeking revenge?_ " Suddenly, the thought that Kanoko was being targeted because of actions she took to help him left a bad taste in his mouth.

Before he could stop himself, he scoffed, "If the Sound thinks they can attack one of our own and get away with it – they're going to learn the hard way how wrong they are."

Shikaku's eyebrow shot up, not quite expecting such a response out of the Uchiha.

Naruto, on the other hand, was grinning like a mad man while chuckling quietly to himself.

Sasuke ignored the both of them and focus instead on the path ahead.

Shaking his head with mirth, Shikaku chose to skip the bulk of his observations and thoughts – deciding that the words would be pointless to the genin before him. Both of them were itching to get into the action and bring their friend home.

Shikaku closed his eyes for a moment to laugh quietly, " _And here I was thinking that Noko-chan only knew how to make enemies._ " His eyes opened and drifted to Naruto and Sasuke, " _...I'm glad that my children have friends like them._ "

With a smile on his face, he spoke to the boys while taking the lead, "We have two mission objectives now: Rescue Kanoko and defend Shikamaru's team from the Sound. Completing both with our numbers and skill sets will prove to be difficult, but…" Shikaku paused.

Naruto was the first to speak, "…But what?"

Shikaku turned his head to the side, giving them a side smirk, "But we have something the enemy doesn't."

Sasuke glared in annoyance, wishing Kanoko's father wasn't so vague.

Thankfully Naruto voice his question with an annoyed tone of his own, "And that is?!"

The elder Nara chuckled, turning back around, "...None of you are typical genin. Actually, I'd say all of you are going to be the pillars holding up our village one day."

Naruto and Sasuke stared at Shikaku's back.

Naruto was the first to shake himself out of his shock to grin widely, "BELIEVE IT!"

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"AKAMARU!"

Kiba wailed as he raced towards his friend and partner. Akamaru's side was a deep red color with crimson droplets dripping off of him as he fell from above.

Kiba dived down from his branch in order to catch his small dog. He caught him just before hitting the ground, making Kiba grunt as he felt the impact of crashing into a tree. Leaning against the tree, Kiba took a tentative look at Akamaru.

His stomach lurched as tears started to form in his eyes.

Akamaru was barely moving.

And the amount of blood…

Howling, Kiba jerk his head back up at the witch above him, "YOU SICK BITCH!"

Tayuya just scoffed, "Oh, so it's ok for you to throw him at me, in the hopes that he'll take me out, but when I defend myself, I'm the bitch." Holding her flute up to her mouth, she motioned her giants to surrounds Kiba and Akamaru.

Kiba cursed before racing off, in order to get away.

"YOU AREN'T GETTING AWAY!" Tayuya growled out, in hot pursuit of Kiba.

Kiba turned his head as he weaved his wave through the thick forest, " _I know the terrain, but that's the only advantage I have right now…_ " Kiba took another look at Akamaru, " _Damn it! I'm so sorry Akamaru! I got cocky and you covered me – paying for my mistakes!_ "

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Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikaku raced through the trees. They knew that they were close to the fighting, based upon growing amount of damage to the forest they were passing by. The more trees and ground up turned, the worse of a feeling Shikaku was getting in the pit of his stomach.

Everything about this felt wrong. Maybe it was mostly due to the fact that his two only children were in the deep of it, but…

Shikaku's train of thought was broken when he felt a flicker of chakra a small distance behind them. Signally the boys to stop, he took a defensive stance as he waited for the surprise visitors to make an appearance.

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"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, making Shikaku face-palm.

" _Kakashi better hurry up and teach this kid some discretion and how to be quiet…_ " Shikaku thought before giving the three new comers an unimpressed look.

"Naruto…" Gaara responded in an emotionless tone.

Sasuke eyed the Sand siblings with suspicion as Shikaku broke up the reunion, "Who are you and why are you here?" Shikaku spoke firmly before thinking, " _The last thing we need is to add the Sand into this mess._ "

Temari and Kankuro looked to their brother, who paused before speaking slowly, "We were requested, by your Hokage, to act as backup in your mission to retrieve Nara Kanoko."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow at that, "The situation has changed greatly. It is possible that we will be facing off stronger enemies than the three of you can handle. Are you still willing to complete this mission?"

Temari just huffed as she crossed her arms, "We wouldn't be out here if we didn't already know the risks."

Gaara nodded at his sister's words.

"Then why are you out here?" Sasuke asked quickly, his eyes narrow at the three.

Kankuro shrugged with a smirk, "Wow. Not one to let the past go, are you?"

Sasuke's fists tightened, "I'm an avenger."

Shikaku place an arm in front of Sasuke, "Stand down."

Gaara spoke again, "We are not here to start another fight. We are simply here to repay a favor."

Naruto cut in, curious, "A favor?" The blonde looked over at Shikaku, "Do they owe you something, pops?"

"We owe that pineapple head's sister, Nara Kanoko." Temari told them, getting frustrated with the conversation – which she knew was a waste of time.

Gaara nodded, "My sister is right. Nara Kanoko was the one that stopped the cursed seal from taking control and sending my demon into a rage." Gaara closed his eyes and spoke low, "She is also the reason that I am able to sleep."

Now Shikaku was curious, "What do you mean, she is the reason you are able to sleep?"

Sasuke and Naruto listening intently, also extremely curious now.

"When I slept, my seal weakened to the point that the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku, was able to take over my body. Since that day, when Nara Kanoko removed the curse seal, I also felt her chakra mold over the tailed-beast's seal." Gaara paused, "It wasn't until later, that I noticed that Shukaku's voice had been silenced."

Shikaku's eyes went wide, his hand shaking ever so slightly, " _She reinforced the seal…? A tailed beast seal?"_

Kankuro cut in, pulling the Leaf nin from their thoughts, "Not that I don't mind standing here and chatting, but isn't this a time sensitive mission?"

Shikaku sighed lightly, "It is." He stuck out his hand, "Let me see the scroll from my Hokage."

Gaara pulled the scroll out and handed it to Shikaku.

Reading through it quickly, he handed it back to Gaara, "Follow us."

The Sand trio nodded, leaping into the trees with Naruto, Sasuke and Shikaku.

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Sakura threw her body to the ground to avoid another attack from the Sound twins. Rushing chakra to her hands, she pushed herself off the ground and rolled to the right – narrowly missing another attack. Whipping her hair over her, Sakura looked out at the scene before her.

Sakon and Ukon were hunched over slightly, laughing at Sakura's dirt covered form.

Sakura huffed, blowing a pink strand of hair from her face as she glared at them. Focusing her eyes to the scene behind them, she witnessed Choji struggling with his own opponent. Honestly, a part of Sakura wondered why the Sound hadn't killed them already. Were they stalling them or did they get off on playing with their enemies?

Sakura was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a scream come from Choji. Jerking her head back to Choji she watched as the brown haired boy was flung through the air and landed deep in the forest. Leaves and birds scattered from the area as his enemy dived into the forest in hot pursuit of wicked smile on his face.

Concerned for her friend and teammate's safety Sakura pushed herself up to her feet and raced towards the force where she saw Choji land. She could tell Sakon and Ukon were in hot pursuit as she flew through the branches, her eyes rapidly moving trying to find Choji.

Hearing a pain groan, Sakura pushed her legs towards the sound, "Choji!" Sakura jerked her head around to try to find Choji's form, "Choji where are you!"

"Over here." A small groan followed the voice.

Hearing Choji's voice Sakura raced over to where he lay on the ground, "Choji… Are you okay?"

Choji rubbed his side groaning as he did, "I think… I think a busted a rib…" Choji held his side, grunting at the pain.

Sakura watched her teammate cringe in pain, "Choji we need to move!" Placing her hands over Choji's side, they started to glow green in an attempt to heal the damage, "There's no way we come out of this alive!"

Choji groaned while shifting his body to sit up. Turning to Sakura, Choji frowned at her, "If we retreat, we'll be nothing but cowards." His frown dipped further as his eyebrows ruffled, "I can't… No. I **won't** abandon my post! Not when my friends are counting on me!"

Choji pushed Sakura's hand away and pushed himself to his feet – panting as he did.

Sakura stared up at Choji in awe before frowning, "Our friends wouldn't want us to die needlessly!" Sakura jumped to her feet and grabbed Choji's arm, "It's one thing to be brave. It's another to be stupid!"

Choji grumbled, not agreeing with Sakura, but not sure if he was willing to waste time arguing with her. If she was anything like his teammate, Ino, then they could be there all day.

Sakura just crossed her arms and waited for Choji to argue back.

They were both pulled from their stare down when the ground shook below them.

"You Leaf nin are weak!" Jirobo laughed out, his hands planted into the ground, "Or maybe you're just the extra fat hanging around. No wonder your team left you to the three of us!"

Sakon appeared from behind the bushes with a chuckle of his own, "You just now figuring that out, Jirobo? Maybe you're the real idiot here…"

Jirobo glared at his comrade.

Choji and Sakura tensed at the two. Choji was panting heavily from his wound that he didn't let Sakura finish healing and Sakura's paranoia hit an all-time high when she couldn't find the second half of the Ukon/Sakon pair.

"We have no advantages. The have the superior numbers, and your strength and my genjutsu abilities won't help us here… And the other one, Ukon or Sakon, isn't in plain sight." Sakura told Choji, her eyes viciously searching the area.

Choji was silent as he stood his ground. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a clear contained, holding a red capsule.

Sakura's eye caught the movement and her arm snapped his hand, "No! Shikamaru told me to keep you away from that pill!"

"Like you said, we have no advantages! This will give us an advantage!" Choji roared at Sakura.

Sakura stepped back, taken aback by Choji's tone and angry face. Sakura opened her mouth to argue back, but closed it when she saw the look in Choji's eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Choji turned his eyes back to the enemies ahead while speaking low to Sakura, "…To put your life on your line for a comrade, for our village, for those important to you – it's the way of our village." Choji paused before continuing, "That's what Shikamaru told us. Neji understood this when he stayed behind to face off that spider guy alone… It's what we all knew what we were getting into when we accepted this mission."

Choji was quiet for a moment, "…I'm not going to let my best friend down. I'm not going to let my comrades down. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect the people close to me!"

Emerald eyes went wide as she listened to Choji's speech. Sakura quickly snapped out of it to hang her head in shame as she remembered what Shikamaru told her at the start of the mission.

 _ **Dusting himself off after pushing Sakura off, he looked down at her with dangerous look, "But if your actions cost me my sister…"**_

Sakura's fists tightened as her eyes squeezed shut, trying to hold in the tears in her eyes, " _He was right! I'm nothing but a liability!_ " A tear spilled down over her cheek and hitting the ground with a drip noise, " _If I was stronger like Naruto, or smarter like Shikamaru, or more skilled like Sasuke I could help Choji, instead of adding to his worry!"_

 _ **Flashback**_

" _ **Why do you even like that boy?" Kanoko asked Sakura, watching Sasuke walk away. Sakura had just asked him out on a date – a sparring date, but everyone knew she was focusing more on the word "date" then "sparring".**_

 _ **Sasuke, however, seemed to be in a particularly foul mood because instead of ignoring her like usual, Sasuke coldly told Sakura that she was weakest genin in their academy and sparring with her would be a waste of time.**_

 _ **Kanoko, on an errand run for her mother, happened to be passing by and stopped to watch the exchange. After watching Sakura get her heart crushed, she walked up from behind and asked Sakura her question.**_

 _ **Sakura felt hot and her head hurt – feeling a sob coming on. Knowing that if she spoke, she would start crying, just shrugged at Kanoko's question.**_

 _ **Kanoko raised an eyebrow, but walked up to Sakura's side – not looking at Sakura but at the path ahead.**_

 _ **They stood there silently for a few minutes, neither looking at the other.**_

 _ **Exhaling lightly, Kanoko spoke, "…I've never understood this whole concept: Courting, dating, whatever you want to call it." Kanoko paused and raised an eyebrow, "But perhaps I see "love" differently."**_

 _ **Kanoko looked at Sakura from the corner of her eye, "…You threw yourself in front of Suna's tailed beast in order to protect Sasuke… That's something many may claim they would do, but would never follow through with."**_

 _ **A short breeze kicked up some leaves – making them fly by Kanoko and Sakura.**_

" _ **You are brave Sakura - braver than many people in this world. On the battlefield you would risk your life to protect those important to you – against impossible odds. And you are also brave in how you openly give heart to others. Many either admire from the shadows or give up at the first sign of difficulty." Kanoko paused, listening for Sakura to speak.**_

 _ **When she didn't, Kanoko continued, "And you are tenacious. You don't give up after the first, second, or hundredth failure. Something you share in common with Naruto, actually."**_

 _ **Kanoko smirked when she heard a small "hmph!" from Sakura.**_

 _ **Kanoko spoke quietly as she took a step with two grocery bags in her hands, "You're smart …and brave …and tenacious. The only person that can take those things away from you, is you."**_

 _ **The young Nara started walking away, her back to Sakura, but not before speaking one last time.**_

" _ **You were brave back in Suna, but now it's time for you to be strong."**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **Kanoko was nearly out of view when Sakura couldn't hold it in anymore. She cracked out a wail before sobbing – her body shaking as she did. When she finally caught her breath again, Sakura looked up at the place Kanoko disappeared into.**_

 _ **With a smile on her face.**_

 _ **With tears still streaming down her face, she smile wide and bright, "Thank you Kanoko… Thank you so much."**_

 _ **End Flashback**_

Sakura's eyes snapped up to Choji's face. Taking her hand off of Choji's arm, she nodded to him.

Choji's eye went wide before he started to smile back.

Sakura head snapped to the Sound nin in front, "Choji… You're right. This is the time to be brave. For Neji, for Shikamaru, for Kiba, and Naruto, and Sasuke… And for Kanoko. For them we need to be brave. For them we need to fight."

Sakura stood tall as she finished her small speech, "For them we need to be strong."

Choji tightened his fist around the red pill, his face determined. Nodding his head, with his eyes locked on Jirobo's form, he swallowed the pill whole.

Sakura, equally determined, felt the surge of chakra flow from Choji and knew it was her time to shine too. Pulling out several kunai with tags attached, she raced forward at a ground breaking speed and started lighting the tags up.

Sakura toss two around Sakon's feet.

Sakon was quick to jump back and out of the way.

Sakura was quick to pursue her target, sending exploding kunai after exploding kunai.

The Sound nin cursed as he leaped farther and farther back, away from Jirobo, "Ukon!"

Ukon was quick to appear on his brother's command, leaping out from behind the trees and aiming his body straight at Sakura.

Sakura whipped out a smoke bomb and threw it at her feet – throwing Ukon off. Ninja wire shot out at Ukon's coughing form and wrapped around him. Sakura pinned the two ends of the wire into the ground and a tree – holding the Sound nin in place.

Sakon was quick to react. Leaping towards Sakura, got her in the stomach with his claw.

"GYAAAAH!" Sakura called out, holding her pulsing stomach. The skin was not broken, but she could feel the internal damage. Quickly, Sakura placed a hand over her stomach and started to heal the damage.

Sakon ripped the bindings off Ukon, "Getting trapped by a weak kunoichi…"

Ukon glared at his brother before shrugging off the wire and turning to the recovering pinkette, "You're going to regret that, little girl."

Sakura just returned his glare with a spat of her own, "Bring it on."

00000000000000000000000

"What are you seeing?"

Gaara held his fingers over his eye as his third eye viewed the battles from above. Releasing the jutsu, he turn to answer Shikaku's question, "There are four battles going on ahead. The closest is between the Leaf nin with a mutt and a red hair woman – she was wielding a flute and had command over three demonic giants."

Naruto was quick to clarify, "That's Kiba and Akamaru!"

Gaara nodded, "The dog… It was badly injured. And the two were retreating to the east."

Kankuro adjusted the coffin on his back, "I got this one."

Shikaku nodded, allowing Kankuro to assist Kiba. The middle child of the late Kazekage took off.

Gaara continued, "The second closest battle is between two large shinobi. Their strengths seemed to be in their physical abilities." Gaara paused, "You're Leaf nin is winning, but his body seems to be thinning as he goes."

Shikaku gritted his teeth, "…Choji. Damn it."

Temari whipped her fan out from behind her, "I'll go back him up. If he needs it."

Shikaku stopped Temari. He pulled out a large black pill from his pocket, "Feed this to him – shove it down his mouth if you have to. He'll die if you don't."

Temari grabbed the large capsule and nodded solemnly before taking off quickly.

Shikaku sighed heavily, " _Please. Don't make me tell my best friend that his son isn't coming home._ " Turning back to Gaara, he motioned for him to continue.

"There are two battles left. One is between demonic twins and the pink hair konichi from Naruto's team, and the other is between a dark haired boy, dressed in green and another… A shinobi who is using the bones in his body to attack and defend."

"What?!" Sasuke and Naruto exclaimed at the same time. Naruto quickly followed it up, "What do you mean, using his own bones?! Wait… Pink hair? SAKURA-CHAN!"

Shikaku's hand quickly grabbed the back of Naruto's collar and held him back from running to Sakura's rescue.

Gaara nodded, "Yes. Your teammate. And she will not be able to hold off the two of them for long."

Sasuke turned to Gaara, "What about this shinobi that is using the bones in his body to fight? How is that even possible?"

Shikaku cut in while holding Naruto's collar firmly, "There is a clan… I thought they had been whipped out." Shikaku was silent for a moment before continuing, "In any case, there was a clan, whose kekkei genkai was to grow and harden the bones of their bodies. No genin would be able to fight off an attack from this shinobi – not even Gai's student."

Gaara was silent as he considered what the Nara clan head had to say. Looking up at Shikaku, he spoke, "Then I will proceed to that location. My sand techniques stand the best chance of stopping this enemy."

Shikaku eyed Gaara carefully, " _The kid is probably right. Out of all of these kids, the former Kazekage's youngest is the most likely to survive._ " Shikaku was starting to feel his age as the stress started to seep into his skin, " _But if he dies… And on our lands of all places…_ "

Sighing, Shikaku nodded to him before turning to Sasuke, "You will go assist Haruno Sakura."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto yelled out, "What?! Why him?!" To add to his point, Naruto crossed his arms and pouted.

Shikaku felt the corner of his mouth twitch into a smirk, " _Kushina's quick temper and Minato's need to save everyone: Worst combination ever._ " Shikaku chuckled low in his throat, " _People say the same thing about my two children, so I guess I have no room to talk._ "

Turning to face Naruto, Shikaku's face softened, "Because I need your help. Gaara was unable to find either of my two troublesome children, so that means the Cloud still has them. You know the most about them…" Shikaku paused to release his hand from Naruto's collar, "And I need your special ability, if you want to pull this off without anyone getting seriously hurt."

Naruto had mixed feelings. He wanted to go help Sakura-chan, but he also promised that he would bring Kanoko back… And Shikaku needed him in order to get her back.

But…

Naruto turned to Sasuke, a serious look in his eyes. He stared at Sasuke for a minute – Sasuke feeling uncomfortable at the look on Naruto's face. Taking a deep breath, Naruto walked up to Sasuke and spoke firmly, "…Promise me that you will bring back Sakura-chan – alive and ok."

Sasuke stared at Naruto, his arms still crossed. The wind blew by them, picking up leaves and making them fly pass. Sasuke uncrossed his arms and look away with an annoyed look, "You do your job and I'll do mine."

Naruto grinned, knowing that was Sasuke speak for "I promise".

Shikaku shook his head at the two before calling out to the two of them, "Come on. Every second we waste here is another second that our comrades need us."

Naruto and Sasuke nodded before taking off in different directions.

Shikaku moved to follow Naruto, but not before thinking, " _Your sons sure are something, Minato, Fugaku._ " Shikaku leaped into the trees with a light smirk on his face, " _But they're brave and strong – and really care about their friends. I'm sure the two of you are proud of what they have become and what they will become in the future_."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000

.

.

.

" _Shit!_ " Shikamaru thought as he raced through the trees, following his tracks back to the clearing. He looked over his shoulder and found the blonde nowhere to be found. A kunai was in one of his hands while the other hung loose. One of the fingers on his hand was bent backwards and was starting to swell.

" _That was too close…_ " Shikamaru thought, focusing on spiking his chakra while racing through the forest. One of the first things his sister had taught him was how to deal with genjutsu users – if you were lucky enough to identify them before getting caught.

This particular tactic was more of a last resort as it both wasted chakra and it was similar to setting off a flare to any sensors in the area.

Unfortunately, the young Nara, he didn't have much of a choice…

 _ **Flashback**_

 _The blonde smirked, "Your life, in exchange for your sister's."_

 _._

 _Shikamaru's eyes dropped into a dull look. Sighing loudly, he placed his hands in his pockets and slouched._

 _Not quite expecting such a response, the tall blonde stilled in her movements. Her hand closed into a fist before opening it back up and extending her fingers with a small frown on her face, "…Strange." The woman narrowed her eyes slightly, "I was under the impression that your little sister meant more to you than that."_

 _Shikamaru's eyebrow arched before mumbling, "Why does everyone think I have a sister complex? If anyone has a complex, it's her. Troublesome…"_

 _The blonde's eye twitched slightly before turning her frown into a smirk, "So you don't care what happens to your sister?"_

" _Of course I do." Came the lazy answer._

" _But not enough to trade your own life for."_

 _Shikamaru sighed before rubbing his shoulder with a bored look, "If you had my sister, you'd be parading her in front of me like some kind of prize." Shikamaru released his shoulder and placed his hands back in his pockets, "But you don't, so why bother?"_

 _The blonde bit the inside of her cheek, to keep from screaming at the rude boy in front of her, "…I could be holding her somewhere else."_

" _Then you wouldn't have said, "I could be holding her somewhere else"." Shikamaru told her, his tone dripping in sarcasm._

 _The woman held her tongue. Instead of lashing out, she started to chuckle darkly, "…You take more after your mother."_

 _This caught Shikamaru's attention. He knew that his father was well known throughout the lands, due to his high position in the Leaf's hierarchy and his time in the war, but his mother?_

 _The blonde's chuckling grew, "What, no witty response?" She paused to lift an eyebrow, "Perhaps my first assessment was wrong. The only thing you have in common with your father is his looks."_

 _Shikamaru frowned, "What do you have against my family?" The way she was talking… Shikamaru gave her a sharp look._

 _The woman smirked, "So._ _ **Much**_ _."_

 _And then she flickered out of view._

 _Shikamaru twisted his body around, his hands out of his pockets, as he searched the area._

" _Silly boy." A light voice whispered behind him._

 _Shikamaru spun around, only to find the spot vacant._

" _You think you who your family is."_

 _Shikamaru spun around again, growling when he was met with nothing but air again._

" _But you have_ _ **no idea who they are**_ _."_

" _GYAHH!" Shikamaru cried out, feeling his back get slashed open by some kind of whip._

" _You don't know_ _ **just what kind of monsters they are**_ _."_

 _Shikamaru hissed, holding his scream in as he fell on one knee – the back of his calf bleeding from the attack. He pulled out a kunai from his pouch and held it out in front of him._

" _Allow me to_ _ **educate you**_ _."_

 _An invisible force plowed into Shikamaru's gut, sending him flying before tumbling on the ground. Spitting out dirt, he pushed his chest off the ground to search the area for whatever hit him._

" _Your_ _ **father**_ _is nothing but coward. He easily gives up the things he wants, just because he is afraid of conflict."_

 _Shikamaru pushed himself off the ground, only his cheek getting hit this time. "I think I'm starting to get the timing down…" He thought._

" _You_ _ **sister**_ _is nothing but a pawn. She quickly falls in line to the discussions made by others – whether those orders be right or wrong."_

 _Shikamaru raced behind a tree, but looked back when he didn't hear an attack. Feeling the hairs on his back stand up, he jerked his head down just before the ground exploded beneath him – sending him flying backwards and hitting the ground_ _ **hard**_ _, on his back._

 _Shikamaru groaned in pain as his vision blurred._

 _The blonde woman kneeled down next to him, placing a hand on his chest. She brought her lips near his ear and whispered, "But the_ _ **true monster**_ _in your family is your mother."_

 _Shikamaru's hands snap around the woman's wrist. He felt the air get pushed out of his lungs as she pushed harder and harder on his chest._

" _For_ _ **your mother**_ _is cruel."_

 _He felt the bruises forming on his chest from the pressure._

" _For_ _ **your mother**_ _is hateful."_

 _He screamed as he felt his ribs start to crack, one by one._

" _And_ _ **she took**_ _ **everything**_ _ **from me**_ _."_

 _Air wheezed out of him as he felt her hand sink into his chest and compressing his lungs down._

"… _And I am going to do the same to her. …_ _ **Starting with her little boy's life**_ _."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _Just… Need to…" Shikamaru thought before his eyes snapped open._

 _._

"… _What did you say about my sister?"_

 _._

 _The woman blinked at the boy's question, "He's dying and all he asks is what I said about his sister?!" Deciding to meet his demand, he was going to die anyways, she answered, "I said your sister was a pawn, she-"_

 _The blonde stopped speaking when she saw the smirk appear on Shikaku's son's face._

" _What-?" She didn't get to finish before Shikamaru snapped one of his fingers back, sending their world into a mix of colors._

 _Shikamaru panted as he watched the genjutsu around them deteriorate. He was standing in the same place before._

 _Standing a few feet away from him was the blonde. She glared at him, "How did you know?"_

 _Shikamaru smirked, "Because everyone sees my sister as some sort of rebel or stuck up princess. I'm the only one that thinks of her as a pawn – actually, more as a suck up." Shikamaru shrugged, "And that's only because she'll do whatever our mother says, making me look bad."_

 _And with that, Shikamaru threw a smoke bomb on the ground and sped out of there._

 _ **End Flashback**_

Shikamaru cursed his luck, and then, for good measure, his sister's curse for taking a terrible situation and making it ten times worse…

"Troublesome…"

.

"Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru came to a complete halt, his body tense and his kunai out and ready for attack. He continued to scramble his chakra flow, in a desperate effort to null all possible genjutsus.

Shikaku and Naruto landed in front of Shikamaru. Shikaku, who yelled out to his son earlier, took notice to his tense and paranoid posture.

Naruto, however, was excited to see his friend – and in one piece too, "Shikamaru! Man! I was worried! A lazy ass like you?" Naruto chuckled with a large grin on his face, "But then I remembered that even you grow a spine when it comes to Kanoko!"

Shikamaru eyed the two suspiciously. He looked to his father before slowly shifting them to Naruto, "Naruto… What is the unspoken rule of Team 7?"

Naruto blinked, "Huh? Kanoko told you! Man, not cool! That was a Team 7 secret!" Naruto pouted, crossing his arms in annoyance.

Shikamaru relaxed, smiling at his blonde friend, "Nah… She refused to speak about it – even though she came home looking like she had been through a mini war."

Shikaku chuckled, "I remember that. Your mother was ready to go knock down Kakashi's door and give him a piece of her mind – and of her frying pan."

Shikamaru exhaled in relief, happy to be with people he knew and trusted. Looking back at his father, he asked, "Have you see Kanoko yet?"

His father's face turned solemn, "…No. I was hoping you would be with her." Shikaku eyed his son's broken finger, "I take it you've had a run in with the Cloud nin… Or maybe another Sound shinobi?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "…I'm not sure _who_ I ran into."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, but before he was able to ask for more information, Naruto cut him off, "COME ON! Not again! We've had enough conversations in one day, and now night, to last a lifetime!" Naruto crossed his arms again, "When we finally catch up to Kanoko, she's going to be annoyed it took us so long. And you know who suffers her vengeance? It's me!"

Shikamaru shook his head, "Nah, Kanoko likes to spread the wealth – she's a real gem like that." His tone thick with sarcasm.

Shikaku coughed, a small chuckle escaping as he did, "In any case… Naruto is right. We need to keep searching."

Shikamaru sighed, but nodded, "Before I ran into, whoever that woman was, I found traces of a fight. Either a shinobi of the Leaf found the Cloud carrying one of our own and attacked, or Kanoko escaped."

"There aren't any Leaf shinobi due back. It's more likely that Kanoko escaped." Shikaku told them before mumbling, "Even at a young age, she was difficult to pin down."

Shikamaru nodded and started leading the pair to the clearing where he suspected Kanoko escaped her captures before fighting back.

It didn't take them long to find the place. Touching down on the ground, Shikaku immediately started surveying the area for signs of where they went.

The three spread out, looking for clues, when Shikaku heard a muffled hiss. He didn't react, but continued to act as if he was search – all while moving his shadow carefully.

With a sudden snap, his shadow took off at the speed of sound and caught two bodies hiding in the bushes.

"Damn it!" A pained voice called, "I can't move!"

Shikamaru and Naruto jumped over to Shikaku's location and watch as he pulled the two out from the brush.

Two blondes, one male and the other female, fell forward – completely entwined in the black tendrils.

"Cloud." Shikamaru stated, looking up at his father.

Shikaku looked in between the two of them, "Those are some burn marks… Not to mention stab wounds."

Naruto crossed his arms with a grin, "Definitely Kanoko's work!"

Shikamaru whacked Naruto in the back of the head, "If they didn't know what we wanted from them, they do now. Idiot."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head while glaring at Shikamaru, "Oh and your comment wasn't anymore stupid, STUPID!"

Shikamaru's eye twitched and he looked like he was going to argue back before sighing and mumbling, "…Troublesome…"

Shikaku felt a headache coming on, " _Kids these days…_ " Turning his attention back onto the Cloud nin before him, he spoke, "How many Cloud nin did you see carrying Kanoko away, Shikamaru?"

"Three. All blonde, but the one carrying Kanoko isn't here…" Shikamaru answered, looking around.

"I see…" Shikaku changed his hand sign. The black lines restraining the two started moving up their bodies and wrapping around their necks. Shikaku applied pressure making the two gasp and squirm in pain, "Now-"

Shikaku was interrupted by a voice.

"WAIT!"

The three turned around to see a limping Cloud nin holding his abdomen.

Naruto's eyebrows shot up, "You!"

Shikaku looked over to Naruto, "You recognize him?"

Naruto nodded, "He's the one that I helped then told me about his team and where they were taking Kanoko!"

"Traitor!" The blonde man spat out.

The new Cloud nin hung his head, but nodded firmly at them. His eyes shift to the female, "You were right Samui. We should have never taken this mission – if for no other reason than it being against what we stood for."

Samui exhaled deeply at her captain, completely exhausted by the whole adventure. She raised her head to look at him in the eye, "And you were right too, Darui. Our Raikage would have never sent us on this mission if it wasn't important. And **he** didn't."

The unnamed blonde turned to Samui, "Not you too sis!"

"Enough Atsui. We were nothing but pawns." Samui told him firmly.

Naruto looked from Samui to Darui to Shikaku, "Wait! Time out! I'm not following!"

"You're not the only one." Shikamaru mumbled.

Darui turned his focus from Naruto back to Samui, "What are you talking about Samui?"

Samui turned to Shikaku, "Your daughter broke the seal blocking her chakra and paralyzing her. After which, she went on the offensive and was able to take both Atsui and I out. Just as she was about to kill me, our team leader, C, caught her in a genjutsu."

"Or so I thought…" A gruff and broken voice spoke out from behind the group.

"C!" Darui shouted, limping over to his teammate, "What happened to you?!"

C was covered in blood, the faint glowing of green being the only thing keeping him upright and breathing. His clothes were shredded and he was dragging his leg – which looked to be broken.

Darui caught C as he collapsed on the ground.

Shikaku's brain was running on overdrive. With every answered question, two more popped up.

C panted as he balanced on Darui, "…We've been betrayed… And used…"

"Explain what happened." Shikaku told the Cloud nin firmly.

C did not respond, so Darui nodded to him, telling him to go ahead.

C shook his head, but started talking regardless, "…After I caught Nara Kanoko in a genjutsu, I started to focusing on putting her back to sleep. I didn't get very far when I felt something I've never felt before: Someone took over my genjutsu and pushed me out."

Shikaku tensed, his breath caught in his throat. He stepped over to the bleeding Cloud nin, "Who?"

C glared up at Shikaku, his mouth shut.

A black tendril arched from below and ripped into C's non-broken leg.

"AHHH!" C screamed out in pain.

"POPS!" Naruto called out, not understanding why he did that.

Shikaku ignored him as his voice turned cold, " **Who.** "

C heaved in pain, his teeth gritting as he spoke, "Yamanaka Asami."

.

.

.

Shikaku exhaled.

.

He walked a few feet away from the group.

.

*BAM*

.

Blood poured down the tree and his fist from the impact.

.

" _DAMN IT!_ "

.

Shikamaru watched his father with terrified eyes. He had never seen his father like this. Worried, yes. Disappointed, yes. Sad, yes.

Angry?

No

Completely infuriated?

Shikamaru never thought he'd ever see this side of his father.

.

Who was Yamanaka Asami?

.

Naruto placed a hand on his chin, "Yamanaka… Yamanaka… Wait! Yamanaka Ino? Someone related to Ino?" Naruto looked over at Shikamaru for the answer.

Shikamaru shrugged, eyes still trained on his father's back, "I don't know. Maybe…"

.

Shikaku evened his breath out. Turning back around, he spoke to the Cloud nin, "What happened next?"

C wiped the blood from his mouth with a scowl on his face, "I confronted her…"

 _ **Flashback**_

 _C felt the genjutsu get pulled from him. He stared wide eyed at the person before him. He never experienced such a thing before – he didn't even know it was possible!_

 _His eyes followed as she walked up to him, a smirk on her face._

" _Asami…" C spoke carefully, "What are you doing here?"_

 _Asami's smirk just grew as she turned her eyes back to her captive, "Darling thought you could use some backup. So here I am."_

 _C's eyes narrowed, "…Then why did you take the genjutsu from me?"_

 _Asami's deep blue eyes shifted slowly to C, "It's none of your concern."_

 _Samui frown at the exchange while helping her brother with his wounds. Samui never felt comfortable around Asami – whether it was because she was a traitor of the Leaf or held so much sway over the Raikage, Samui wasn't sure._

 _She knew one thing though._

 _Asami's presence didn't signal anything good in their future._

 _._

 _C, tired from the mission and Asami's antics, pushed more, "We have pursuers. We need to knock Nara Kanoko out and then make our way back home as quickly as possible."_

 _Asami hummed in interest, "Pursuers? Do you know who?"_

" _A few Sound nin and some Leaf genin." C answered quickly._

 _Asami raised an eyebrow, "Genin? Leaf genin? …How, fortunate." Asami's grin grew, "Tell me, did one of them have brown, pineapple shape hair?"_

 _Atsui was the one to answer, "Yeah. How'd you know?"_

" _Because it's her brother." C told Atsui while glaring at Asami, "I don't know what you're thinking, but we've already lost one comrade and we haven't seen Darui at all. I'm not letting you risk any more lives to satisfy your savage needs."_

 _Samui's eyebrows shot up._

 _Asami smirked wickedly, "…Think you have me figured out huh?" Asami's eyes darkened as they locked onto C's form._

 _C quickly took a defensive stance, preparing for an attack from Asami._

 _._

 _He didn't expect the attack to come from the genjutsu trapped Kanoko._

 _C leaped out of the way just in time. Kanoko continued her vicious attack as he heard Asami's wicked laughter in the background._

" _C!" Samui shouted before whipping her head around to face Asami, "Stop! You'll kill him!"_

 _Asami just laughed louder, "Oh dear… That's the point." Her wicked grin turned to Samui and Atsui, "Don't worry, you'll have your turn too."_

 _Samui's heart jumped before she placed herself in between Asami and Atsui, "Once a traitor, always a traitor! You won't be able to defeat all of us and when the Raikage hears about this!"_

 _Asami cut her off with a bellowing laughter, "Oh please honey! Your "Raikage" is nothing but a pawn on my chest board. All it took was one look and he was under my spell." Asami arched an eyebrow, "And that was before I even used my clan jutsu on him."_

" _Samui! Grab Atsui and get out of here!" C shouted from across the field before being chased into the forest – a dead eyed Kanoko hot on his trail._

 _Samui gritted her teeth as she stared down the witch before her, "…Why are you doing this? What do you get out of this?"_

 _The former Leaf nin looked Samui straight in the eye and spoke in a low tone, "For what other reason, then for vengeance?"_

 _ **End Flashback**_

"…And then she sensed your son approaching. She was so overjoyed to get her revenge that she didn't notice Atsui and I slip away." Samui finished for C.

.

Shikaku rubbed his face, " _How is she even alive?! And why is she targeting my children? And why did she get this powerful?!_ "

Shikamaru looked over at his dad, concerned for him and concerned for his family. He looked down as his fist tightenedbefore lifting his head up to face his father again, "…The woman I came across. She said she would take everything… From Kaa-san."

Shikaku's eyes widened, "…No…" Shikaku school his features, feeling a familiar sense of dread and sour taste in his mouth, " _ **He**_ _told her… This… This is_ _ **my**_ _fault._ "

Naruto gazed around the area again – from the injured shinobi to his own emotionally crippled comrades. Taking in a deep breath, Naruto spoke loudly, "So there's this chick, who's got mad mind skills. And for some unknown reason, she wanted to make Aunty pay for something and the only way she can do that is by doing something to Aunty's family."

Naruto paused to nodded to himself, "Power, revenge, family. Seems like one of those "soap operas" all the girls talk about, if you ask me." Naruto shrugged before frowning, "What I don't get, is if she's clearly a traitor of the Leaf and is now a traitor of the Cloud, why aren't we banding together to do something about it?"

C scoffed, "And what do you propose? I'm bleeding to death, Darui doesn't look any better. Atsui and Samui are too exhausted and chakra depleted to be of any use."

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed, "Well… Why don't you help us track down Kanoko? If anyone knows how to defeat an all-powerful mind jumbling mad woman, it would be her."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow before narrowing his eyes at Naruto, "…Part of what you're saying **sounds** like something Naruto would say, but the clear logic behind it…"

Naruto crossed his arms, "Hey! You're calling me an idiot again!"

Shikamaru responded by rubbing his neck and sighing, "I'm just saying that it makes sense…"

Shikaku smiled at the two of them, "And it's the right course of action. Thank you Naruto, for keeping us on track. We aren't out here to fight old ghosts, but to bring Kanoko home."

Naruto grinned in response.

Darui stood, "And it is our fault that you are even out here in the first place. We will help however we can."

Shikaku nodded, grateful to be aiding each other instead of fighting one and another.

.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

The group turned to the sound of clapping.

Walking up to them the blonde busty woman in question, "How precious, you all think you stand a chance." Asami pushed her lips together to make them puffier, "Two walking dead men, two more throw away characters, a bright orange idiot, a cowardly boy and his cowardly father."

"I actually feel a little sorry for you." Asami finished with an amused look on her face.

Shikaku walked forward, his shadows dancing at his feet, "Asami. Your problem is with me. Leave the others out of it."

Asami frowned for a second before smirking again, "Perhaps you are right. Maybe, after all these years, my anger has been misguided…. Yes… I can see now…"

The wind whipped through the area, kicking up dust, dirt and leaves – several passing by Asami's face, "…And I know the perfect way to satisfy its hunger."

Dark blue eyes locked onto small dark brown ones.

.

"SHIKAMARU!" Shikaku called out, sending his shadows toward Asami while placing his body in between her and his son.

.

.

.

"Ultimate Mind Destruction Jutsu…"

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.

Sakura laid against a tree, panting while holding her stomach. She had a small amount of blood seeping out of her mouth and her clothes had burn marks all over it.

But she had a smile on her face.

Some would even say a smirk.

The air was thick with smog and several trees, bushes and sections of the ground was steaming from her explosives. Shakur had mercilessly traded attack after attack with Sakon and Ukon – forcing them to join their bodies together again.

From there, Sakura laid a series of traps before aggressive pursuing them again with a variety of knives, shuriken, explosives, and more – all thanks to the storage seal provided by one Nara Kanoko.

The trade off was that Sakura was forced to take risky, and honestly, reckless moves in order to get close enough to get a hit in.

At least every third explosion she caused she felt – explaining the burn marks on her clothes and skin.

But it all proved worth it when the Sound pair collapsed after the last round of explosions.

.

It was just too bad that she had to use her own body to pin them down when the explosive activated – sending her into the tree she was currently leaning on.

.

With the smallest bit of chakra left in her, Sakura tried to take care of the big wounds. Like the gaping hole in her stomach.

Sakura's eye felt heavy and her body felt light.

.

.

.

"Argg…." The combined Sound twin spoke. The pair was in agonizing pain, but the anger they felt for the pinkette in front of them clouded their pain receptors.

Stumbling forward, the pair took slow steps forward – a kunai in their hand.

They approached the nearly passed out Leaf nin, kunai high in the air. Once they were close enough, they brought it down with a loud battle cry.

.

.

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"CHIDORI!"

The sound of a thousand birds chirping broke through the thick silence, causing the Sound twins to twist their body around at the noise.

.

And in an instant, Sasuke's hand ripped deep into their shared heart.

.

They were dead in an instant.

.

.

Sasuke tossed the lifeless body to the side, pulling out his hand as he did, before kneeling to Sakura's side. Sasuke took a quick look around the area and then looked back at Sakura.

"I thought you were weak. Have you changed or…" Sasuke stopped speaking, shaking his head and instead focusing on the injuries before him.

The first thing that caught his attention was the faint green glow pulsing over her stomach, "How bad?"

Sakura blinked slow, "…Sa-Sasuke?" She leaned her head to the side with her eyes closed, "What… What did… You ask me?" She mumbled out, nearly fainted.

Sasuke ignored her, knowing he wasn't going to get any decent information out of her. He reached into his pouch and started wrapping her wound as fast as he could. Once he was done, he lightly shook Sakura in order to get her to pay attention to him.

"Sakura. Sakura. Wake up." Sasuke commanded her.

Blinking several more times, her eyes finally focused, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded, "I need to know if you will be ok by yourself. That means no sleeping and no more fights."

Sakura nodded slowly, "…Yeah. I can do that."

Sasuke nodded, "Good."

Sasuke stood and turned around to take off into the trees, but turned around to take another look at Sakura, " _I was so certain that she was nothing but a fan girl. When did she get this strong?_ "

Sakura noticed his paused and assumed it had to do with her safety. Smiling, she spoke softly, "You're going to help Kanoko and Shikamaru, right?"

Sasuke nodded.

Sakura smiled kinder, "Then go. Go save our friends."

Sasuke was thrown off by her sincerity and selflessness. He stared at her for a second before nodding and disappearing into the trees.

The pink haired girl sighed lightly, but kept the smile on her face.

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"SHIKAMARU!" Shikaku called out to his son, trying to shield him from Asami's deadly attack.

"Tou-san!" Shikamaru responded, trying to see through his father's back.

.

"Ultimate Mind Destruction Jutsu… Complete."

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.

.

"Sh-Shika-maru… Get… Out… Of here!" Shikaku gritted out, his hands covering his head and his nails digging into his skull.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Shikaku screamed, causing Shikamaru to freeze in place.

.

Asami smirked at the pair, "Tell me, young Nara, have you seen the full potential of a Yamanaka? You must have one in your team. It's **tradition**."

Shikamaru's wide eyes were glued to his withering father's form – Asami's words sounded like mumbling to him.

She continued, "Well. Yamanakas have a special skill set. One that is feared among many."

.

The shadows previously dancing around Shikaku came to life again.

.

"The ability to control another's mind."

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Only this time, the shadows had a new target.

.

Naruto shoved Shikamaru out of the way, both of them hitting the ground with a skid. The shadow tendrils curved around, following after the pair at a ground breaking pace.

Shikamaru quickly pulled Naruto up with him and leaped out of the way, but not before taking a hit on his shoulder. Shikamaru's eyes stayed wide as he stared at the blood seeping out of his wound. Turning back to his father's form, he noticed a dead look in his eyes, " _Tou-san…_ "

.

Asami eyed the boys as they were chased around the forest – her puppet in hot pursuit.

"Take this!" Atsui called out, swinging his sword around and attempting to slice Asami in half.

Asami growl in annoyance at the blonde, "I was going to spare you… But now I'm annoyed!" Asami pulled out her whip and snapped it out at Atsui.

Atsui jumped backwards, out of the whip's range – making Asami smirk as she started up her area genjutsu.

She got two hand signs in before getting interrupted by a flash of lights.

"Gale Style: Laser Circus!" Beams of light soared through the air – aimed straight at Asami.

Asami cursed low, jumping out of the way in the last second, forcing the attack to hit the ground with a boom. She landed on the ground a few feet from where she stood. Asami turned to face the group of Cloud nin before her.

"You're all going to regret getting in my way."

Darui shrugged, "You were planning on killing us anyways. What difference does it make now?"

.

Growling was the only response he got.

.

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Shikamaru panted as he and Naruto raced through the trees. His arm had gone numb, along with his lungs…

.

…Along with his brain.

.

Shikamaru didn't know what to think. Here he was, running for his life, from the one man he trusted above all: His father.

Shikamaru had no illusion either, on who would come out victorious if he was to turn around and face his father head on. And even with Naruto, Shikamaru knew their chances of **escaping** were slim – let alone fighting back.

Black tendrils cut passed the two of them, making them leap out into different directions.

In their running, they had reached another clearing – the waterfall area from before.

" _I'm going to take that as a bad sign_." Shikamaru thought from his place on the ground.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted before duplicating several times over the area.

"Naruto! No!" Shikamaru tried to call out to him, but it was too late. Naruto had already started on his fist pounding assault. Waves of Narutos were blown back and popped by the rapid movements of Shikaku's shadows. The black lines curved and dipped, spreading out over the area like an infection.

"GYAHH!" Naruto cried out as he was flung into the water.

Shikamaru raced over to the side and gave Naruto his hand, helping him onto the surface of the water.

"Thanks…" Naruto panted out, taking another aggressive stance, "What's the plan, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru gave Naruto a bewildered look, "Run and hope he doesn't catch up!"

Naruto snapped his head to Shikamaru, "What?! That's a horrible plan!"

"It's the best we got!"

"Kanoko said you have an IQ over 200 or something! Use some of it to figure out a way to beat pops!"

"My overly large IQ is telling me, with flashing red lights, "Run, you idiot, run!"."

Naruto crossed his arms, "Well, your IQ is stupid!"

Shikamaru sighed heavily before shoving the two of them into the water to miss another attack from Shikaku.

They both swam away quickly and resurfaced on the other side of the water. Naruto pulled himself up and then turned around and help Shikamaru up. The two of them stood on top of the water, a good distance away from the blank eyed Shikaku.

Naruto growled low, "I'm not letting that old hag hurt you or pops!" Naruto turned to face Shikamaru, "If you're going to run, run! I'm going to stay here and fight for my friends! That is my ninja way!"

Shikamaru stared at Naruto in awe as he raced off across the water, calling upon another set of clones. This time, he was more coordinated – placing clones on all sides and using some as detractions for the blank tendrils whipping around the area.

Naruto weaved through his clones and found a spot behind Shikaku that was out of sight. Calling upon two more clones, Naruto started to form energy in his hand, " _I'm sorry pops, but this is going to hurt._ "

Once the energy stabilized, he took off – racing towards Shikaku's backside. Just as Naruto and his clones were about to strike Shikaku, a black tendril wrapped itself tightly around Naruto and his surrounding clones.

Squeezing them until they popped.

All, except for the real Naruto.

"AHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed, the tight squeezing cracking his ribs.

"NARUTO!" Shikamaru called out, his whole body shaking.

.

Naruto's body went limp after another couple seconds. Shikaku's tendril dropped him on the water with a splash. Naruto's body floated on the surface of the water, face down, and completely passed out from the pain.

Shikamaru took a step forward, but stopped when he saw the shadows snap in his directions, begging him to come their way so they could stab him through the heart.

" _Damn it… Naruto…_ " Shikamaru's hands shook, " _I can't move! I'm too terrified! I need to move! Naruto needs me!_ "

Shikamaru took a deep breath and formed his hands into a circle, closing his eyes to concentrate. Shikamaru's eye snapped open a moment later. Pulling out a kunai, he flung it at his father.

Shikaku dodge the attack and watch curious as Shikamaru ran a half circle around Shikaku, skidding to a halt once on the other side. Shikaku wasted no time calling upon his black tendrils to strike.

He stopped them in mid motion when he saw the smirk on Shikamaru's face.

Twisting his body around, Shikaku felt the thinning of the air as a great lightning attack headed his way.

.

"CHIDORI!"

.

Sasuke slammed his fist down, just barely missing Shikaku – who managed to jump backwards just in time.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu… Complete!"

.

Shikaku's lifeless eyes snapped to the ground. A long black line extended from his own feet to the feet of his son.

Shikamaru smirked, "…I love that jutsu."

Sasuke just scoffed, but his face showed nothing but pride and amusement.

.

.

"Clever boys."

.

Shikamaru focused ahead while Sasuke turned around. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not sure who this blonde woman was, but knowing that she was trouble.

Asami stepped over to where Naruto laid on his back, floating lightly in the water.

Sasuke cursed at himself. He should have grabbed Naruto, instead of just turning him over and then attacking.

Asami smirked at Shikamaru, "You're quick and clever – I'll give you that, but unfortunately…" Asami placed a hand over Naruto's stomach – sending chakra directing into his system, "Unfortunately for you… My need for revenge is stronger than your will to survive."

Sasuke and Shikamaru watched as Naruto's bright blue eyes turned cold and demonic. Orange chakra spun around Naruto, with a single chakra tail forming from his body.

Shikamaru gulped at the sight.

" _Kanoko… Where are you? We need you…_ "

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 _He gritted his teeth together before growling out, "I DESPISE you!"_

 _Both of Kanoko's eyebrows rose this time, "…You don't even know me."_

 _The Cloud nin started chuckling low, "Oh… But I do." A dark and angry smirk took over his face, "You're the one that took everything from me. My people, my home, my best friend…" He paused, his breathing getting labored and his eyes turning wild as they fixated on Kanoko's feet, "And most of all. The one thing I valued and loved over everything else…"_

 _._

 _His head snapped up to meeting Kanoko in the eyes._

 _._

 _Kanoko froze. Her heart stopped beating and her breath stilled. Something in the back of her mind screamed at her, "Look away!" Kanoko's eyes snapped away from his face – her eyes wide in completely shock._

 _._

 _Blood soaked eyes with swirling black dots inside stared at Tobirama's reincarnated form._

 _And with two words, Kanoko knew exactly who she was dealing with._

 _._

"… _My brother. You took my little brother from me."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _And I'm going to do the same to you."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

" _This time, I'm going to take everything until you have nothing left."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

.

.

.

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 **Fear**. Uchiha Madara was alive.

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 **Panic**. The Uchiha hatred… The Uchiha need for vengeance... All of it aimed at her.

.

 **Worry**. For her brother. For her family. For her friends. For her home… None of it was safe from **him**.

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 **Dread**. She wouldn't be able to stop him – not as she is now.

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She would lose everything she built, everything she cared for, everything she fought for, bleed for, died for.

.

And then…

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Confusion. Uchiha Madara is dead.

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Reflection. But… So was she.

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Suspicion. But, why now? Why in this way? Why not a direct attack – destroying everything she loved in one go?

.

Doubt. Uchiha Madara would never act this loose and carelessly. He was an intellectual, like herself. He would not act unless he felt his victory was assured. Nor would he settle for anything less than complete obliteration.

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No one feels emotions stronger than an Uchiha. Not in love, and not in hate.

.

And he **hated** her.

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Kanoko closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The sound of deep and voluminous laughter started to fade into the background. As she forced her hands and shoulders to relax, Kanoko focused inward, " _Forthcoming shinobi must suppress their emotions. Take the emotion from this situation and evaluate what is left._ "

Exhaling, the reborn Nara started to run the facts through her head, " _Patrol duty. Ambush from the Cloud. Kidnapping. Uzumaki Seal. Sound shinobi invading with the same purpose as the Cloud. Coordinated attack? No. However, timing is far from coincidence. The Cloud knew when and where to attack and have been moving too freely through the area – clearly there is another traitor among the Leaf that has yet to be sniffed out. …Or perhaps a bitter enemy of myself or my family…_ "

Kanoko paused on that thought before continuing, " _No time to evaluate._ "

Breathing deeply and exhaling with her eyes still closed, Kanoko focused on the chakra around her, " _Broke seal due to Uzumaki's weakness. Attacked captors in order to remove the threat. Would have retreated if threat proved too challenging. Threat proved to be weak. Removed two and proceeded to remove the last._ "

Taking a deep and long breath through her nose, Kanoko tilted her head to look up at the sky, " _Bright and blue… We are hours out from Konoha… It should be darker._ "

Kanoko's sharp reddish brown eyes snapped to the deforming zombie before her. Slowly, she bent down on one knee. Her hand shot out to grasp the man's jaw. Roughly turning it towards her, Kanoko stared at him straight in the eyes.

Brown met crimson.

Kanoko barely heard the man's angry words and grunts as her mind fixated on the Sharingan eyes before her. Bending forward further, Kanoko moved her face closer until they were inches away.

.

Silence took over the area.

.

The air stilled.

.

.

.

Kanoko's voice cracked into something low and dark, "…I've never seen Uchiha Madara's Sharingan."

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Reddish brown eyes sharpened, burning holes into ones before her, "…But I know enough about the Sharingan to know that his wouldn't be exact copies of Uchiha Izuna."

The crimson eyes locked with Kanoko's widened considerably.

Kanoko wasn't finished. Dropping the zombie's head, she stood up straight – slowly lifting a hand to her chest as she did so, "…I applaud you for your skill. Had you not brought my deepest fear to the forefront, I may have never known that I was caught in your genjutsu."

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"Kai!"

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.

.

The scene before Kanoko bleeds away – the golden rays of the sun turning into glimmering light blue highlights from the full moon. The thick of the forest has faded away and Kanoko quickly observed that she was back in the clearing where she started.

"Clever girl…" A woman's voice spoke.

Kanoko flinched at the noise, swiftly shifting her mind into defensive tactics. As she willed her body to move, she paled when the totality of the circumstances came to a shocking forefront:

She was bound.

.

 _ **Again**_.

.

Growling lowly, her eyes blazed at the figure before her. Tall with long golden hair, the woman kneeled down to meet Kanoko at eye level – who was sitting with her arms, hands, and legs tied in special rope designed for capturing shinobi.

Smirking at Kanoko's glare, the woman brought a hand up to Kanoko's cheek – making her flinch away when the blonde's finger tips grazed the surface of her skin. The woman's smirk merely grew at Kanoko's reaction.

"Such a strange pair – the two of you are." She spoke wistfully, not really speaking to Kanoko.

Kanoko's breath hitched at those words before she steadied herself. Instead of confirming her fear, Kanoko waited for the unblemished woman to speak.

Her deep, ocean blue eyes locked onto Kanoko's dull brown, reddish orbs, "Clever, strong, and in complete control of your mental and emotional facilities…" Slowly standing back up, the woman smirked wickedly at Kanoko, "…Things not typically found in a child such as yourself."

Kanoko's sharp eyes narrowed further, "Who are you?" Kanoko demanded with an even tone.

The woman placed a hand on her hip, her smirk still planted firmly on her face, "Me?" She chuckled, "You children… You certainly weren't raised with any manners." She threw up hands up with a shrug, "Though, I suppose I can't blame you. After all, it's a mother's place to teach her children to act proper."

Dismissing the woman's insult, Kanoko pressed on with a firm tone, "Who are you and what business do you have with my brother and I?"

The woman sighed playfully, "No fun either." Giggling like a schoolgirl, the blonde leaned over – bringing her hand towards Kanoko.

Kanoko fought the restraints as the woman moved, expecting her to knock Kanoko out or finish her off for good. When the woman's hand met the rope binding Kanoko's arms down, she felt them snap. Kanoko's eyes jerked up to meet the woman's amused blue eyes.

When she felt the last of the ropes loosen off of her body, Kanoko leaped back. Eyeing the woman suspiciously as Kanoko monitored the gap in-between them, she spoke, "…I'm not sure what you pose to gain by freeing me, but you've made a serious mistake."

The blonde kunoichi merely straightened out her back, her hand going back to her hip as she smirked cockily at the young Nara, "An interesting pair indeed…" She started to walk to her left, causing Kanoko to side step to the right.

As they started to circle around like lioness waiting for the other to strike, the woman picked up the conversation again, "Tell me… The people in your village must compare the two of you all the time – being twins and all." She waited for Kanoko to argue or agree. When neither came, the woman's smirk grew, "See… It's that right there that tells me that you and your brother couldn't be any more different."

Kanoko kept her eyes focused on the white garbed woman in front of her while slipping her hand into her ninja pouch, " _…I should be down at least four kunai… That lightning jutsu performed by the medical shinobi... That must be when I got caught._ "

Kanoko berated herself for her sloppiness, " _...I was careless._ "

The woman chuckled low when she saw the wheels in Kanoko's head start to turn, "In fact… I'd say you're not a Nara at all."

The brunette's face did not change and her body did not twitch. Keeping a complete hold over her emotions and reactions, Kanoko stared dully at the woman before her.

The blonde hummed in thought, "…Don't get me wrong. You're clearly the result of Nara genetics: The dark hair, the sharp eyes, the thin frame..." She paused, stopping her movements and causing Kanoko to still as well.

.

Blue eyes met brown/red. "I've been watching you…" She paused to gage Kanoko's reaction: …Nothing.

"And not just you… Your friends…" Nothing.

"…Your teammates…" Nothing.

.

"…Your brother." Nothi- Wait...

The woman's smirk turned wicked again, "Don't think I didn't see that twitch in your hand…" Chuckling low, she continued, "For a girl who acts like she cares for nothing, you sure are protective of your elder brother. …It makes me wonder…"

The air thinned as both of their chakras flooded the area.

"…If the legends are true."

Kanoko threw her kunai at her opponent, making her jump back with a laugh. Wasting no time, Kanoko whipped through hand signs and calling upon the water in the air and aimed it at the mysterious woman. Jets of highly pressured water shot out, ripping holes in the ground as the woman dodge Kanoko's attack.

Pulling out a seal, Kanoko activated it. In a flash of markings and a small smoke cloud, she pulled out another of her swords. Whipping it around her defensively to deflect shuriken heading her way, Kanoko started forming one handed seals.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A clone of Kanoko appeared in a cloud of smoke next to her before rapidly taking off. Racing around the other side and boxing the woman in, the pair of Kanoko attacked.

Quickly, the blonde used the replacement jutsu and subbed a log in her place. Kanoko's clone spun around and wasted no time hunting the enemy down. Kanoko stood still as she observed her clone attempt to land a hit on the evasive lady.

Deep giggling echoed through the area, causing Kanoko to spin around while pushing out her chakra. Focusing on the energy around her, Kanoko cursed when she realized there was more than one chakra signature in the area.

And they were identical.

Cursing at her sloppiness, Kanoko re-centered her thoughts and started assessing the situation, " _Genjutsu user. Clearly uses her looks and words to trick her opponent…_ " Looking back to her clone fight the mystery blonde's clone, it occurred to Kanoko that the woman has not once attack her, " _Why…?_ "

Calling her clone off, Kanoko shouted in the direction she felt the second chakra signature, "What is your purpose here? You had ample opportunity to knock me out or kill me while I was caught in your genjutsu. And even after, you set me free from my restraints, knowing full well that I would attack you."

The chuckling grew louder as the woman's clone poofed away and her real form blended into view, "It is your actions that set you apart from your clan. Both your father and your brother questioned my purpose and actions leading up to this moment before engaging in battle."

The woman's smirk was back in full force, "True strategists, those two..." She paused to focus on Kanoko's annoyed form, "You… On the other hand, labeled me as a threat right away…" The blonde tilted her head in thought, her smirk fading, "No… That's not why you attacked…"

Kanoko regarded her duly, getting impatient with her need to speak.

"You attack to gage my abilities… If I proved to be weak, you would have killed me without another thought – regardless of any consequences. …How cruel." The woman's smirk appeared on her face again, "And yet… The embodiment of a true shinobi."

With a sudden bark of laughter from her enemy, Kanoko's grip on her sword tightened.

After the woman's laughter died down, she spoke in an amused tone, "I just can't wait to see… Who will win?" Blue eyes darkened as her smirk grew into a wicked smile, "The calculated and experienced war general or the cruel and merciless she-wolf?"

Kanoko's mind pursued two different thoughts: Who was this woman referring to and why did she call Kanoko a she-wolf.

The female Nara was pulled from her thoughts as the woman continued, "…And who will you sacrifices to win?"

Kanoko's stomach dropped in dread. Quickly, Kanoko aggressively pushed her chakra through the air. Kneeling down, she placed her fingertips on the surface of the ground – searching for any familiar chakra signatures.

The dark chuckling continued.

"…And will you make it in time to save your father from committing a sin he will never recover from?"

.

.

.

Chakra burned the ground below Tobirama's reincarnated form. With a grand push of chakra, Kanoko leaped into the forest – racing at her top speed.

She could feel it.

She could feel the chakra.

.

Dark and deadly chakra.

.

Dark and deadly chakra she recognized.

.

.

.

 **The nine tailed beast's chakra.**

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 _ **Time: Twenty-Three Forty-Two**_

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 **Author's Note:**

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	34. Chapter 32

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"Clever boys."

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Shikamaru focused ahead while Sasuke turned around. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not sure who this blonde woman was, but knowing that she was trouble.

Asami stepped over to where Naruto laid on his back, floating lightly in the water.

Sasuke cursed at himself. He should have grabbed Naruto, instead of just turning him over and then attacking.

Asami smirked at Shikamaru, "You're quick and clever – I'll give you that, but unfortunately…" Asami placed a hand over Naruto's stomach – sending chakra directing into his system, "Unfortunately for you… my need for revenge is stronger than your will to survive."

Sasuke and Shikamaru watched as Naruto's bright blue eyes turned cold and demonic. Orange chakra spun around Naruto, with a single chakra tail forming from his body.

Shikamaru gulped at the sight.

" _Kanoko… Where are you? We need you…_ "

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Asami looked down at the Jinchuuriki, " _It's too bad I can't just take over the boy and use the demon fox's power… I'll just have to settle on a rather powerful genjutsu._ "

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" _Hahaha! I got you good!" Naruto laughed at a drenched Kanoko._

 _Kanoko's eyes were slightly wide in shock as the ice cold water dumped over her head traveling down her back. Several adults passing by stopped to stare while some continued walking – a giggle escaping from their mouths._

 _Kanoko felt like a drenched cat as water from her clothes dripped into the grocery bags she was carrying. A small giggle was heard behind her. Shikamaru quickly cut off his chuckling with a cough when Kanoko's blazing eyes locked onto his form._

 _Kanoko wiped the water off her face and glared harshly down at Naruto's laughing form. Dark chakra poured from her body, scaring the people nearby, before Kanoko forced her body to relax._

 _She stared coldly at Naruto, causing his laughter to die down._

"… _How juvenile."_

 _And with that, Kanoko walked around Naruto – continuing down her path as if nothing happened._

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 _Naruto gritted his teeth – his fist tightening angrily._

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" _Ok class, find yourself a partner! We are going to be working on offensive and defensive taijutsu techniques today!" Iruka`sensei told them. He rested his hands on his hips with a smile on his face as he watched his class drag their feet over to their best friend or someone they knew._

 _Kanoko looked around the room and locked eyes with Uchiha Sasuke. She didn't like working with the Uchiha for many reasons, but he was the only one in the class that came close to matching her level._

 _Sasuke nodded to her and rose. Just as he was about to walk over to her when something yellow and orange appeared in front of her face._

 _Squatting on the desk before her, glaring at her, was one Uzumaki Naruto._

 _Her favorite person._

" _I'm going to introduce you to the Uzumaki special!" Naruto shouted in her face while pointing at her._

 _Shikamaru, being the helpful little shit he is, replied to Naruto for her, "What're you going to do? Throw ramen at her? That'll really teach her…"_

 _Kanoko's eye twitched before she turned to glare at her brother. He just shrugged and walked away with Choji, but not before she caught a tiny smirk growing on his face._

 _Naruto was boiling at this point. With steaming coming out his ears, he grabbed Kanoko by her collar and roared, "YOU! ME! OUTSIDE! NOW!"_

" _NARUTO!" Iruka-sensei cut in, pulling Naruto back by the tip of his ear._

" _ACK! Iruka-sensei! Ow! Ow! OW!" Naruto cried, his ear throbbing in pain as Iruka pulled him to the front of the class._

 _Kanoko looked back at Sasuke and growled in annoyance when she saw him standing next to Shino. Grumbling internally, Kanoko got up and followed the class outside._

 _Once outside, Kanoko stared blankly at Naruto – who was the only person left in the class that didn't have a partner._

 _Lucky her…_

" _Ok class! I want one of you to use offensive taijutsu techniques,_ _ **only**_ _, while your partner uses defensive techniques. If I see anyone using a weapon, kekkei genkai, ninjutsu, or anything that is not taijutsu, you will be placed in a corner until the class is done. Am I being clear?" Iruka-sensei told the class, his eyes focused on Naruto in particular._

" _Yes sensei…" The class chorused aloud._

 _Iruka-sensei clapped his hands with a smile, "Then pick who is doing what and begin!"_

 _Kanoko stared at Naruto, unimpressed, "…I'll take the defensive role. You can be offensive."_

 _Naruto smirked, "You're going to regret letting me go first!" Naruto held out his fist as a show._

 _Kanoko felt the urge to sigh before muttering low, "I doubt it."_

 _The young Uzumaki roared in anger as he swung his fist at Kanoko's face. The young Nara just grabbed it and pushed Naruto back, making him stumble at the force. Naruto dug his feet into the ground as he went in, this time with a barrage of fists._

 _One after another, Kanoko deflected Naruto's attacks with ease – barely moving as she did. Naruto stumbled back again, panting as he glared at Kanoko's bored face._

" _You think…" Naruto continued to pant as he spoke, "You think you're… Better than the rest of us…" Naruto's hands tightened into fists, "I'm going to wipe that stupid look off your face!"_

 _Naruto raced forward before diving low. Kanoko jumped, a little surprised Naruto was smart enough to go for her legs. Naruto's face hit the ground hard as he skidded, but quickly jumped to his feet to swing a fist at Kanoko's back._

 _Kanoko ducked to avoid the blow, while twisting her body to face Naruto._

 _Naruto, still in mid punch, lift his leg to knee Kanoko under her chin._

 _Kanoko quickly back flipped out of the way, causing the others, who had stopped sparing to watch, to clap in awe._

 _Naruto punched the ground, "Damn it! Why can't I hit you?!"_

 _Kanoko crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, but did not bother to answer his question._

" _Come on Naruto! Get her!"_

 _Naruto turned his head to see Kiba and Akamaru cheering him on, "You show that spoiled hime who's the king around here!"_

" _Y-You c-c-can do i-it, Naruto-k-kun!" Came the squeak of one Hyuuga Hinata._

" _Yeah Naruto! You show her!" Ino shouted with a fist pump and a grin on her face – a timid Sakura standing just behind her, watching intently._

 _Even Shino and Sasuke stopped to watch, silently hoping Naruto would get a hit in._

" _What a drag…" Shikamaru drawled, dropping on his butt with a grunt – already tired._

 _Naruto grinned at his friends and classmates. With renewed energy, Naruto grinned wickedly at the emotionless Kanoko, "I'm going to beat you. I'm going to wipe that high and mighty look off your face. And I'm going to do it with my new secret move – an Uzumaki special!"_

 _Kanoko stood there, neither afraid nor concerned._

 _Naruto's grin grew, calling upon the chakra in his palm, he roared, "RASENGAN!"_

 _._

"RASENGAN!"

"CHIDORI!"

The two blast of energy hit – causing the water beneath them to splash up and drenching Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke's Sharingan eyes snapped down, his quick eyes catching Naruto's orange chakra covered claw rapidly heading towards him.

Unfortunately, his body wasn't as fast as his eyes yet.

The heavy blow knocked Sasuke through the air and into Shikamaru – sending the both of them crashing into the water. The two gulped in water as their limbs rapidly moved to pull themselves out of the water.

Sasuke found his way to the surface of the water first, on his hands and knees, coughing out water. Sasuke looked over to Shikamaru, who was starting to pull himself up. Shikamaru didn't get very far before he was violently pulled from the water – a black tendril wrapped around his leg.

Shikamaru was flung through the air by his father's shadow before it released him with a snap. Dust and debris went flying as his body crashed into the ground – face first.

" _That… really hurt._ " Shikamaru thought while spitting out water. Turning his body over to lay on his back, he lazily glared at the moon above, " _Fighting against Tou-san is such a drag…_ " Shikamaru was given no time to recover as the black tendrils shot down from above.

Shikamaru's dark brown eyes went wide before he rolled to the side. The thick shadows ripped through the ground as they rose again and rapidly altered its course to follow the fleeing Nara.

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Sasuke grunted as he blocked each of Naruto's kicks and punches. While Naruto's style was still sloppy, the intense chakra behind his blow was taking its toll on the Uchiha. Whipping through some hand signs, Sasuke used his phoenix flower fire—sending a barrage of fireballs at Naruto and pushing him back.

Naruto snarled at the attack and ripped through them with his chakra claws before speeding around Sasuke, running on his hands and feet – like the fox he held within. Sasuke's eyes were quick to follow, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A huge fireball shot right at Naruto, causing the area to thicken in steam. Sasuke's eyes widened when Naruto appeared from the steam, his chakra infused fist striking Sasuke in the face. Sasuke was propelled back again, skidded against the water until he hit the rock side of the waterfall.

Blood escaped Sasuke's mouth at the impact, but he quickly pushed off the rock to avoid another punch from Naruto.

Naruto's fist struck the rock side, missing Sasuke just barely, and creating a fissure up the side of the cliff. Naruto pulled his imbedded fist out from the rock and growled demonically at Sasuke.

Sasuke stared wide eyed at Naruto, " _Where is this power coming from?! What is he?!_ " Sasuke took a breath, " _Calm down Sasuke. Naruto's a close range fighter. If you can keep your distance…_ "

Sasuke's train of thought was interrupted when Naruto ran in circles around him at an incredible rate, placing Sasuke in the center of a manmade monsoon. Sasuke swiftly leaped out of the monsoon, but curse as a chakra formed claw chased after him – missing his front just barely.

Only to have another appear from beneath him.

"GYAAAAH!" Sasuke cried out as the demonic chakra claw wrapped around him and flung him into the side of the waterfall again – this time leaving a hole in its wake.

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Shikamaru squatted on top of the water, yards away from his father, as the wheels in his head started to turn, " _According to Inoichi, Tou-san always relied heavily on his shadow jutsus…_ " Shikamaru thought back to the time the Ino-Shika-Cho, new and old, got together. Ino had been complaining about Shikamaru doing nothing but hanging back and using his shadow possession jutsu when he felt like it. Inoichi laughed humorlessly and mentioned that Shikaku was the same.

The younger Nara frowned, " _But that only puts me into a corner. I never bothered with any strength training nor am I all that skilled in taijutsu. As for ninjutsu…_ " Shikamaru's eyes moved around the area, " _Water is Kanoko's specialty… Not mine…_ "

Shikamaru sighed heavy, burying his hand into his kunai pouch, "My troublesome sister better show up soon…" Pulling out a few kunai and a flashbang, Shikamaru rose to his feet.

Black lines raced against the water's surface, traveling rapidly towards Shikamaru – branching out and covering more area.

Shikamaru didn't move. He simply stood there, with his normal bored expression covering his face.

The tendrils were just feet away from Shikamaru when he tossed the flashbang behind him. The bright light from the explosive washed the shadows away from Shikamaru while also blinding Shikaku.

Shikamaru tossed kunai with explosive tags at his father's feet while running in a half circle around his target, throwing more kunai as he moved.

The water around Shikaku shifted violently from the constant explosions, forcing him to retreat – his eyes still trying to dilate after being exposed to a harsh light in the middle of a dark night.

Shikamaru moved to follow his father, but stopped when he heard Sasuke's scream of pain.

Turning his head around, he watched Sasuke fall lifelessly from the side of the cliff – rock and dirt following him down.

"SASUKE!" Shikamaru called out, racing out onto the water to help him.

Shikamaru skidded to a halt when he saw the water in front of him turn a thick black color. Before he could move to escape, the shadows shot out and pulled him underneath the water. Gulping for air, he started to swim to the surface – only to find the surface as hard as rock.

Shikamaru banged on the solid black barrier separating him from air. Finding the tactic to be fruitless, Shikamaru started to swim away and surface elsewhere. The thick black barrier followed him as he moved, causing panic to settle in Shikamaru's stomach as he continued to bang and pound his way to oxygen.

A bubble of air escaped from Shikamaru when his lungs finally demanded air. Water flooding in through his mouth and nose, completely clogging him and making him choke in more water.

Shikamaru's fists loosened as his eyes started to shut – a blurry version of the full moon above was the last thing his eyes witnessed before closing. Tiny air bubbles rising up from him as he sunk farther and farther into the black depths of the water.

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 _*SLAM*_

 _Shikamaru's tiny eyebrow twitched in annoyance as the door slammed shut in his face. He was on the second floor of the Nara residence, standing in the wall paper covered hallway with his face pointed towards the recently closed door._

 _Sluggishly passing behind him was his father, hands in his pockets and a bored expression on his face. Without missing a beat or even looking at his son, he spoke with an indifferent tone, "Spare blankets are in the laundry room. I suggest the blue couch over the green one – your back will thank you in the morning." And with that wisdom, Shikaku walked down the stairs to tend to the deer before his wife figured out he was slacking._

 _Shikamaru just tilted his head back to give his father a frustrated look before turning back to the door in front of him. His tiny dark eyes narrowed at the door, "Troublesome…"_

 _It seemed that was the magic word because the door swung open and Shikamaru shrunk a little at the chilling look his sister was giving him._

 _Kanoko was growing faster than her brother, as most girls do, and was currently a full two inches taller than him, giving her an even more imposing look as she glared down at her brother, "What. Did. I. Say. About. That. Word."_

 _Shikamaru started sweating, as he suddenly felt like a cornered deer. His eyes were locked with Kanoko's light brown, almost orange eyes, completely unable to turn away. Taking a large gulp, and in the steadiest voice Shikamaru had, he spoke, "Uhhh…"_

 _Shikamaru gulped again when warning bells started to ring in his head._

 _Kanoko sucked in a breath, attempting to calm herself._

 _And she almost succeeded._

 _._

 _Until Shikamaru's shoulders sagged in exhaustion before mumbling, "Troublesome woman… You're such a drag…"_

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 _._

 _Kanoko leaped forward, arms extended and ready to strangle her brother. Shikamaru was quick to hit the floor, ducking away from his murderous sister. Kanoko stumbled over her brother, hitting the opposite wall with a large thud, shaking the hallway slightly._

 _*CRASH*_

 _Their mother's favorite hallway lamp shattered as it hit the floor._

 _Both of them dismissed the shattered lamp as Shikamaru scrambled off the floor, limbs flailing around as he clumsily stood. Kanoko was quick to move, diving for her brother's legs in order to trap him for punishment._

 _Shikamaru was nearly on his feet again when his legs were pulled out from beneath him. His small fingernails cut into the hallway carpet , gripping it in pure fear – trying to pull himself away from the possessed monster behind him._

 _As he continued to pull at the rug for support, another end table fell, including the plant that it was on. Shikamaru continued to grip the rug for dear life before he started kicking his feet in the air, whacking Kanoko under the chin._

 _Falling backwards, Kanoko hissed as she held her chin while cussing. Growly lowly, Kanoko pushed off the floor – landing on her brother's back. Shikamaru wheezed out all the air from his lungs on impact. Even while disoriented, Shikamaru caught a glimpse of something dark brown drop over his shoulder and determined it to be his sister's long hair._

" _She went dirty first!" Shikamaru thought as he tangled his small hands into her long locks and proceeded to pull roughly on it._

" _Gyah! You little…!" Kanoko yelled._

" _WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"_

 _._

 _Both children stilled immediately. Neither had the courage to look up at the booming voice above, knowing full well who it was._

 _Yoshino was a deep shade of red as steam poured out from her ears. Knowing her_ — _no_ _ **Shikaku's**_ — _children wouldn't be moving, not when she was close enough to strangle the two of them, while she assessed the_ _ **crime scene**_ _._

 _The rug was scrunched up, half of it flipped over, two end tables on the ground – one missing a leg, a plant and it's entrails all over her recently cleaned hallway floor, and…_

 _Her. Favorite. Lamp._

 _Completely shattered._

 _Sucking in a breath slowly, Yoshino closed her eyes before speaking quietly to herself, "Calm Yoshino, calm. Think happy thoughts, like the time you knocked Uchiha Fugaku into a pile of mud after he told Mikoto a woman could never become Hokage. That's a good memory, focus on that."_

 _Kanoko leaned down slightly to whisper into his ear, "I say we run for it while she's trying to find her_ _ **inner peace**_ _."_

 _Shikamaru shook his head with a scowl, "No way! Last time I agreed to that, you sold me out!"_

 _Kanoko shrugged, "Small details… I promise not to sell you out this time."_

 _Shikamaru grunted, "Right. What was it you told me last time… That there is no such thing as honor among enemy ninja?"_

 _Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so now you listen to me."_

" _ENOUGH!" Yoshino roared, picking up both her kids up by the collar of their pajamas. While stomping as she moved, she dragged her children down the stairs tossing them into the couch near her unconcerned husband._

 _Stopping to stare at him for a moment, Yoshino placed her hands on her hips and yelled at him, "And where were you, mister, when this was all going down?!"_

 _Shikaku tilted his head up from the paper he never got to finish that morning. Squirming slightly, he mumbled, "Tending to the deer…"_

 _Just as he said it, one of the clan's deer tapped it's antlers on the window to the living room and stared at them._

 _Shikaku started sweating as his wife turned to him and scoffed while crossing her arms, "Clearly… They're tended to."_

 _The Nara clan leader raised the paper to hide behind as he mumbled, "So I missed one…"_

 _Yoshino shook slightly in anger while biting her tongue. Exhaling, she decided to dismiss her lazy husband (for the moment), "You know what, never mind. I have bigger fish to fry..." And with that, Yoshino's hot gaze was back on Shikamaru and Kanoko._

 _Shikaku sighed in relief as he thought, "Benefits of having children…"_

 _Narrowing in on her children, she spoke, "Now explained to me, what caused the two of you to act like longtime enemies at war, with my recently cleaned hallway as the battleground?"_

 _Knowing that if Kanoko got the first word out, that his mother would believe her over him, Shikamaru spoke over his sister, "She's crazy! She attacked me for no reason!"_

 _Kanoko crossed her arms and looked away in irritation._

 _Yoshino raised an eyebrow and asked if it was true. Shikamaru scowled while thinking, "They always take her side! It's not fair!"_

 _Kanoko shrugged before nodding in the affirmative, her face going pink in embarrassment._

 _Yoshino sighed as she spoke calmly, "Sweetie, why are you attacking your brother?"_

 _Shikamaru's head shot up._

 _He_ _ **always**_ _got yelled at._

 _._

 _How come Kanoko never gets yelled at?!_

 _Jumping off the couched, he yelled in anger, "Why are you always treating Kanoko like she's some fragile doll while you just yell and nag at me all day?! It's not fair! Just admit it! You like her better than me!"_

 _Both his parents stared at him with open mouths, completely shocked. After a moment of silence, Shikamaru scoffed before running out the door and into the Nara forest._

" _Shikamaru!" Their voices were faint as he ran faster and faster through the trees. His father had taught him the basics of escaping an enemy by using the trees and randomizing your escape route, so he did just that – not interested in facing any of his family._

 _The trees passed by him in a blur, the ground kicking up a storm of leaves and dirt in his wake. He ran for what felt like forever – going deeper and deeper into the forest. The full moon above illuminated only a small amount of the space in front of him due to the tree cover, making his feet stumbled over rocks, branches and dirt as he ran._

" _Ahh!" Shikamaru called out, as he tripped over a branch, sending him roughly to the ground. He rolled forward from the momentum and proceeded to tumble down a small decline. Hitting the bottom, Shikamaru groaned as he flipped over onto his back._

 _Small tears were forming in his eyes from the impact and the emotional incident with his family. He stared up at the sparkling sky that started to blend together from the moisture in his eyes._

 _Completely flopped out on his back, arms and legs extended out over the ground, Shikamaru continued to lie there, catching his breath. After a while, his breath started to steady and the wetness in his eyes was starting to crust over from the cold night air._

 _Shikamaru just frowned as he stared at the stars above, "I wish I was an only child! Or at least given a little brother instead! Girls are such a drag! Always nagging, and demanding, and… Ugg! They're so violent too!" Shikamaru sat up to look at the cuts he sustained from the fall._

 _His head jerked up when the ground shook slightly. Standing before him, having jumped from the small cliff above, was his least favorite person:_

 _His sister._

 _Pulling out a few thorns, Shikamaru hissed in pain before shouting, "Go away! I HATE YOU!"_

 _Kanoko raised an eyebrow, taken aback by both her brother's intense emotions and his harsh words. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again when she found she didn't know what to say._

 _Shikamaru, mad that she wouldn't leave him alone, jumped to his feet and ran farther away from his sister. A faint calling of his name was the only thing he heard as he plowed through trees and bushes – earning him more cuts as he did._

 _When he felt he had put enough distance between him and his sister, he plopped down on his butt – hiccupping quietly at the pain and rush of emotions he was feeling._

 _He sniffed, rubbing the snot away from his nose, as he blinked the tears away. Rubbing his eyes, his vision cleared. Shikamaru blinked when he realized he had no idea where he was. Standing up slowly, he started to walk around the area a little, to see if he could find anything he recognized._

 _Frowning when he realized he was lost, he kicked at the ground, sending dirt flying, "Troublesome…" Shikamaru plopped down on his butt again, his time resting his chin on his hand, "Now I'm lost. Seriously, my life would be ten times better without Kanoko around to ruin it at every turn."_

 _Shikamaru crossed his arms, closed his eyes and began ranting, "What good is a sister anyways? Especially a younger one?! You can't play with them because you can't hit a girl. You can't talk to them because they speak a completely different language. And you can't even cuddle with them for warmth because_ _APPARENTLY_ _you were given the_ _ **one girl**_ _that hates all physical contact! UGG!"_

 _Shikamaru flopped on his back and stared at the full moon above, "She's such a drag…"_

 _._

 _*growl*_

 _Shikamaru bolted upright when he heard a snarl come from behind him. Twisting his body around, his small dark brown eyes widened at the growling wolf before him. He was completely petrified at the drooling beast before him._

 _The wolf bent its front legs and readied itself for an attack as Shikamaru started crawling backwards, his feet slipping in the damp grass while his whole body shook in terror._

 _The wolf leaped – its fanged mouth wide open. Shikamaru's arms shot up to defend his body while shutting his eyes tight in anticipation of the intense pain coming._

 _Shikamaru heard a thud and cracked an eye open when he didn't feel any pain._

 _His eyes widened when they fell upon the sight of his sister in a heated battle with the wolf attempting to make him his dinner._

 _Shikamaru watched in shock as Kanoko held down the wolf, its fanged jaw clamped around Kanoko's left arm – trying to tear it off, before she used the leverage to snap its neck. Kanoko panted as she removed her arm from the dead animal's mouth, ignoring the pain associated with a bleeding arm._

 _Turning to Shikamaru, she asked in a slightly shaky voice, "Are you ok?"_

 _Shikamaru, overwhelmed by his earlier emotions plus the fear and adrenaline from the wolf, just leaped towards his sister – pulling her into a bone crushing hug while muttering, "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" over and over again._

 _Kanoko felt all the air escape her lungs at the impact. Patting him on the back, in the hope that his grip would loosen, she told him, "It was my fault too. I shouldn't have attacked you earlier. I let my frustrations over something else get the best of me and then I took it out on you."_

 _Shikamaru just tightened his hold and cried harder._

 _After a few moments, Shikamaru's hiccupping started to pitter out and his hold loosened. Sniffling quietly, he started to mutter, "Why'd you follow me? Even after I told you I hated you…"_

 _Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "…You are my brother." She replied, as if that explained everything and it was as simple as two plus two._

 _Shikamaru grumbled and refused to look at his sister. Instead, he rubbed his face further into her shoulder._

 _Kanoko felt her brother rub his snot all over her shirt and had to count to ten to control her instinct to shove him away._

 _Finally, Shikamaru lifted his face from her shirt and looked to the sky._

 _It was a full moon, it's soft glow stretching over the area around them, making the moist plant life sparkle and glitter. The faint sounds of the night and the soft rustling of the leaves were the only noises heard._

 _Shikamaru's eyes felt heavy as they slowly closed – the intensity of his emotions wearing him down to exhaustion. He felt light as he drifted off – feeling soft and warm in his sister's arms._

 _The next day, when he awoke in his bed, he would dismiss the last thing he heard as a part of his dream._

 _._

" _I'll always be there for you."_

 _._

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*SPLASH*

Shikamaru felt a hand wrap tightly around his before being pulled into the comforting embrace of another. He felt the water move passed him as his captor pulled him up.

The muted sounds of above turned loud as they broke through the surface of the water.

The moment the air hit his face, Shikamaru opened his mouth, choking on the sudden oxygen rushing down his throat in an attempt to reach his lungs. Water and snot propelled from him as he viciously coughed out the trapped water deep in his lungs.

Shikamaru didn't get the opportunity to catch his breath as he felt the person holding him throw his arm around their neck and jump high into the air. His waterlogged eyes blinked several times to clear his vision – the act proving difficult as rain started to pour down from above.

Long dark brown strands of hair floated lightly in front of his face.

" _Kanoko…_ "

His eyes quickly shifted to the materialized shadows chasing the pair through the air. His stomach lurched when Kanoko twisted them through the air and propelled them back down to the surface of the water.

The shadows twisted and arched around them, slicing their clothes and nicking their skin.

Kanoko cursed before hitting the water and throwing her brother behind her. Her eyes blazing, she ripped through hand signs at a vicious rate, "Water Style: Severing Wave!"

A compressed jet of water erupted from Kanoko's mouth, splitting the water as it raced towards its intended target. The shadows evaporated just before hitting Kanoko and Shikamaru.

Kanoko's eyes snapped to her feet when she felt the rush of yin chakra traveling towards her. Calling upon the water, she created a geyser to ride into the air. The long shadows traveled after her, matching the speed of the rushing water.

Kanoko gritted her teeth, "Water Style: Water Shockwave!" The water at Kanoko's feet spun rapidly around her before exploding in all directions – sending the shadow tendrils back. From the center of the explosion, Kanoko leaped out and shot her body towards the location her father stood.

Sword pointed out, Kanoko sliced at her father – her feet hitting the water's surface with a pop as she did so.

Smoke exploded around him and substituted in his place was a log—a typical Leaf Substitution Jutsu. Kanoko's eyes narrowed before quickly spinning around and slicing her sword through the shadows spikes previously aimed at her back.

"Kanoko!"

Kanoko turned around to see her brother run up to her. Stopping just in front of her, he opened his mouth. Nothing came out as his expression changed from relief to worry to confusion before finally settling on what he knows best: Lazy indifference.

Giving her a half lidded, slightly annoyed look, Shikamaru drawled out, "You are the most troublesome woman to have ever been born."

Kanoko returned her brother's annoyed look with one of her own. Deciding to let his comment slide – for now – Kanoko looked around and asked, "What happened here?"

Shikamaru sighed heavily, "A woman by the name of Yamanaka Asami used a mind jutsu on Tou-san and Naruto. She's looking to get back at our parents by killing us—for what, she didn't say."

Kanoko's head whipped around to look at Shikamaru with slightly wide eyes, "She used a mind jutsu on Naruto? Are you sure?!"

Shikamaru was slightly taken aback by his sister's tone. It was rare to see her so surprised. Shrugging, Shikamaru answered, "Well, no. She just placed her hand on Naruto before his chakra started to go wild."

Kanoko was silent for a moment, her mind processing, before nodding, "Then it's likely that she has him in a genjutsu. I don't think even a highly advance Yamanaka could control Naruto directly in this state."

"What do you mean—"

Shikamaru was cut off when Kanoko whipped around and shoved her brother behind her, "Water Style: Water Prison!" Water quickly circled around the two of them and encased them in a thick sphere of water.

Shikamaru's dark eyes went wide.

" **RASENGAAAAN!** " The beast-like Naruto roared out, his thick reddish orange chakra swirling around the compressed chakra in his palm. The one-tail Naruto pushed his hand forward, crashing the massive ball of chakra into the water barrier between him and the Nara siblings.

Kanoko gritted her teeth as she poured chakra into her shield, her shoulders and hands shaking at the pure force of the attack.

"RWWWWWWWAWR!" Naruto thundered out, putting more chakra and pressure into his attack.

Kanoko felt the sweat pour down her head and back before shifting her eyes to her brother. With a grunt, she swung her leg around and kicked Shikamaru **hard** and out of the water bubble.

"Gyah!" Shikamaru cried out as he flew through the air, tumbling across the surface of the water. As he caught his balance, he watched Naruto's attack pierce his sister's jutsu.

Kanoko hissed loudly as the chakra from Naruto's Rasengan burned her forearms before the force of the attack shot her through the air. Spinning rapidly through the air, Kanoko's body finally hit the surface of the water with a loud boom—the shockwave of the impact sending huge waves of water out in all directions.

The young Nara choked out blood mixed with water as she pulled herself to the surface.

"GYAH!"

Kanoko's angry eyes jerked over to the loud cry she recognized as her brother's. Shikamaru was being held high in the air, several shadows tendrils holding her brother in the air while also attempting to strangle him to death.

Water circled around Kanoko, helping her shoot across the water like a bullet.

Shikaku whipped his head around when he felt the intense dark aura speed up behind him. His emotionless eyes showing nothing as Kanoko's blade ripped through the front of his jounin vest—small droplets of blood flying off the tip of her sword.

Twirling the sword around in mid motion, Kanoko took another slice at her father. A loud clang echoed off the water as metal hit metal. Shaking against Kanoko's blade was Shikaku's kunai.

Kanoko ripped her sword back and met Shikaku's kunai blow for blow – sweat mixing with water as the two traveled across the water trading blows. Kanoko continued her quick and violent slashes and jabs – if only to prevent Shikaku from using his hands to form any hand seals.

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Shikamaru turned his eyes from his father's and sister's knife fight, both moving at lightning speeds, over to where he last saw Sasuke and Naruto having remembered Sasuke's fall.

Over by the mouth of the waterfall, Sasuke was hanging loosely from Naruto's tight grip on the front of his shirt. Shikamaru cursed out loud, his feet moving all on their own and racing toward Sasuke and Naruto.

As Shikamaru got closer, his eyes widen at Naruto. Fangs sticking out and blood red eyes as narrow as slivers, the animalistic Naruto roared in victory as he smashed his chakra covered fists into Sasuke's face.

" _Genjutsu or not, whatever that it, it's not Naruto!_ " Shikamaru thought, eyeing the lava-like chakra flowing off the young Uzumaki. Finding a good spot, as far away as possible, Shikamaru ran through a series of hand signs. The dark shadow at beneath Shikamaru came to life before snapping out and raced towards Naruto.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru called out when his shadow connect with Naruto's.

Naruto's fist stopped in mid motion and roared loudly when he tried to move. Shikamaru's body shook as Naruto's massive chakra pushed back hard against his shadow hold, " _There's no way I'm going to get a second shot at this. I need to knock Naruto out, now!_ "

Moving his hands to form a different seal, Shikamaru spoke, "Ninja Art: Shadow Strangle Jutsu!"

The black shadows rose up from the ground and traveled up Naruto's body – the shadows coming together to form a large hand around Naruto's neck.

Naruto growled, his chakra spiking, as he watched the shadows wrap around his body, "Kanoko…" He spoke with an animalistic rumble. His head snapped up and then in the direction of Shikamaru. His crimson eyes blazed as the focused on the young Nara, "…Kano… KANOKO!"

Sweat poured down Shikamaru's neck as he struggled to hold the thrashing Naruto – the blonde's chakra going wild.

"KANOKO!" Naruto howled again, his reddish orange chakra exploding out and snapping Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu.

Shikamaru hissed at the heat of Naruto's chakra, but didn't get a chance to flee before Naruto was in front of him with his fist aimed for Shikamaru's face.

"GGGYAH!" Shikamaru cried out when Naruto's chakra infused fist bashed his face in – sending his whole body flying across the water.

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Kanoko leaped into the air as black tendrils whipping around her, slashing her sides as she twisted around in the air. Twisting her sword around, she sliced through the several shadows looking to impale her.

Her feet hit the surface with a slapping noise before taking off quickly towards Shikaku.

.

"GGGYAH!"

Kanoko whipped her head around at the sound of her brother's scream. She widened when she saw Naruto racing towards her brother with a growing ball of chakra swirling around in his hand.

"RASENGAN!"

Calling upon her chakra, she focused it into the palm of her hand. Light blue energy spun around in her palm, pulling in bits of water as it condensed.

"Flying Thunder god Jutsu!" Kanoko teleported to the seal she placed on the First Hokage's Necklace.

Sharp eyes met red demonic ones.

"Rasengan!"

Pulling her arm forward, Kanoko smashed her Rasengan into Naruto's, canceling the attacks out and sending the both of them flying backwards.

Kanoko twirled in the air and stomped her chakra infused feet into the side of the cliff. Rock shattered under her feet as she shot back towards Naruto, who was still skidding across the water, trying to catch his balance.

Kanoko broke out into a run towards the possessed blonde, water rising as it followed her.

"Water Style: Rising Water Slicer!" The growing waves shot out from behind Kanoko and traveled at an incredible rate towards Naruto.

"GRWAHHH!" The animalistic cry erupted from Naruto as the first wave ripped through him – knocking him further back. The second wave was quick to follow, but Naruto quickly used his demon chakra to jump high and avoid the attack.

Kanoko's eyes narrowed when the reddish orange chakra extended off of Naruto. A giant chakra claw formed above her before racing down to crush her. Kanoko leaped back and watched Naruto hit the surface of the water on his hands and feet, his chakra tail whipping back and forth aggressively.

" _We need to break this genjutsu he's in._ " Kanoko thought, her chakra traveling to her palms, " _Getting in contact with him is easy enough, with my time space jutsu, but keeping a hold on him long enough to channel that appropriate amount of chakra into his system to disrupt the flow… That's going to prove difficult._ "

The glow of the bright moon above highlighted the thick black whips heading her way, each tendril moving at an incredible rate.

" _And then there's Shikaku…_ " Kanoko hissed in annoyance.

"Water Style: Water Shield!" Kanoko called upon the water to block the incoming strike. Thin, compressed shadows ripped through the sides of her water shield, cutting into her clothes and shredding her skin – drops of blood flying off Kanoko with a hiss.

" _ **Ohhh, if I could only describe how much pain your father is in right now. The pure anguish of causing his own child to bleed and nearly drowning the other… It's absolutely thrilling!**_ "

Kanoko's jaw tightened as she held in a growl, " _GET OUT OF MY HEAD, WITCH!_ "

Kanoko dove under the water, narrowly missing the shadow spikes aimed at her back. Moving with the speed of an underwater missile, Kanoko swam through the water and surfaced at the base of Shikaku's feet—the water ripping violently around her and crashing harshly into Shikaku.

Kanoko cursed when Shikaku exploded into a puff of smoke—a log situated in his place.

Pushing her chakra out, Kanoko jerked her head around to Shikamaru, who was over by Sasuke—trying to wake the Uchiha up.

" _ **So many seals… I can only graze the surface of your mind. How disappointing. Oh well. I can see enough to know how much these people mean to you...especially your brother.**_ "

Kanoko caught Shikamaru's panicked eyes as Shikaku rose up from the shadows behind him.

" _ **I wonder...if I made you choose between your family and your friends…which would you choose? Or would you let them both die?**_ "

At the same time as Shikaku's attack on his son, Naruto grabbed Sasuke with his extended chakra claw and was pulling the young Uchiha towards him—Naruto's other hand swirling with darkening chakra.

Kanoko quickly formed the tiger seal, "Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two clones appeared beside Kanoko before the two shouted, "Ninja Art: Substitution Jutsu!" In the instant, Kanoko's clones swapped places with Shikamaru and Sasuke.

Shikaku's dead eyes caught the large red tag placed on the chest of Kanoko's clone and so he quickly protected his front by bending his arms over his face and upper body.

*BOOOM*

Shikaku and Naruto went flying—Naruto into the side of the waterfall and Shikaku into the water below – as Kanoko's clones exploded in front of their faces.

Kanoko fell to her knee and panted, sweat pouring down her face, " _I'm running out of chakra…_ " Kanoko cursed at herself. Turning her eyes over to the two boys, she heard Sasuke grunt as he pushed himself to his feet. Turning her head to them, Kanoko spoke, "Sasu—"

Kanoko cut herself off when she watched the boys' eyes go wide—staring at something passed her.

Turning back around, Kanoko's eyes widened.

A massive, lava-like, chakra claw spread out above them before crashing down on them. Kanoko leaped to grab her brother and Sasuke, but fell short as the water and chakra crashed over and under them. Steam rose from the fiery chakra hitting water as Kanoko floated to the surface of the water.

Kanoko used her arms to pull herself up, but was suddenly dragged back into the water—something dark and cold wrapped tightly around her ankles. Air escaped her lungs, making her inhale water just before her body was yanked out of the water.

Her stomach flipped and her teeth chattered at the cold air as she was whipped violently around in the air before the shadow tendrils smashed her into the rocky side of the waterfall. Blood sputtered out from her mouth as her half lidded eyes caught the form of the statue before her.

" _Hashi…rama… Nii-san…_ "

.

On the water's surface, Shikamaru sat shaking, staring up as his sister was smashed over and over again into the side of the waterfall's rocky surface by their father.

" _Breathe…_ "

Wide eyes stared ahead. Shikamaru knew he needed to move. He needed to stop his father. He needed to help his sister. He needed to think of something! What good was his intelligence if he couldn't even the help those closest to him!?

" _Breathe… Come on…_ "

Shikamaru's eyes caught movement off to the corner. Lightning cracked behind Naruto and Sasuke as the two roared attacks at one and another. Smoke covered the area from Sasuke's fire jutsu and Naruto's popping clones. Sasuke's Sharingan eyes wide in utter panic – every move from Naruto feeling like ten. Water and blood mixed together as it traveled down from his forehead – droplets falling from his nose.

" _Just breathe…_ "

His chest heaved. His lungs shuttering each time he took a breath. Pushing his body up, his legs quaked underneath him

" _Breathe… You need to get in there! You need to help your sister!_ "

His hands couldn't grip a kunai, they were shaking that badly.

" _Come on! Breathe!_ "

The rain continued to beat down on his beaten form.

" _Breathe!_ "

Tears streamed down his face—never having felt so weak, so useless, so helpless as he did in this moment.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **Kanoko gave her brother an angry look as he flopped on the ground**_ — _ **deciding he was done training for the day. Shikamaru was tired, sweating, and all around uncomfortable.**_

 _ **Kanoko scoffed, "We've barely been at it an hour and you're already giving up?"**_

 _ **Shikamaru glared at the clouds above**_ — _ **knowing better than to glare directly at his sister when she was like this.**_

 _ **Kanoko turned her back to her brother with a sneer, "One day, you're going to be stuck in a battle with your friends' lives on the line. In that moment, you're going to regret not taking advantage of the time you had now to get stronger."**_

 _ **Shikamaru just rolled over and started pulling at the grass with his eyes closed, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever…"**_

 _ **End Flashback**_

Shikamaru's head pounded as he screamed internally at himself, " _Why didn't I listen then?!_ "

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Kanoko's eyes stung from the blood seeping in. She had a good sized split at the crown of her head and it was running down the side of her face, over her neck, and staining the collar of her shirt.

" _ **It's all over now. You have almost nothing left and your brother is completely paralyzed in fear. …Although, I must admit to having played a small part in that. These Nara boys of yours have such weak minds.**_ "

Kanoko gritted her teeth at the sound of Asami's voice, " _You're WRONG!"_

Twisting her body around to plant her feet into side of the cliff, Kanoko pushed her chakra through her feet and sunk it deep into the rocky surface – locking the surface with an iron tight grip. The black tendril pulled and yanked at Kanoko's ankles, but wasn't able to break her from the hold she had on the side of the cliff.

" _Shikamaru is just a boy! A boy who is watching his father, who he respects more than anyone, brutally attack his sister, who he cares about! You think you're clever by using his fear against him. You're not. You're WEAK!_ " Kanoko shouted back at Asami.

The young Nara ripped through hand signs, "Earth Style: Rock Collapse!"

Dirt and rock from beneath her feet exploded – sending an avalanche of boulders crashing down.

Shikaku quickly leaped out of the way, releasing his hold on his daughter. Kanoko wasted no time twisting her body around and racing down the side of the cliff.

Kanoko danced around the shadows whipping and arching on the surface of the water – trying to catch her once more. Leaping into the air, Kanoko brought her sword down with a crash against Shikaku's own kunai.

Both blades shook as they tried to overpower the other.

Kanoko growled, her teeth showing, "FIGHT BACK! Don't let this woman use you!"

Shikaku's grip on his kunai faltered, allowing Kanoko to shove him back. Kanoko panted as she eyed her father, " _I'm exhausted and out of chakra… he should have been able to overpower me…_ "

Shikaku just stood there, his grip around his kunai shaking slightly, causing Kanoko's eyes to widen, " _He's fighting… I can see it._ "

The shaking stopped suddenly.

" _ **I'LL SHOW YOU WEAK!**_ "

Shikaku's body tensed before rushing forward and knocking Kanoko into the air with a knee to her gut.

Water and mud flew up as Kanoko skidded across the land around the waterfall before pushing off the ground with a low growl. Whipping her sword through the rain, lightning crackled around her.

The shadows raced towards her again as Shikaku followed them—looking to land another hit on Kanoko. Kanoko whipped her body around, every muscle screaming in pain and her lungs burning from over exertion, and cut through the black tendrils before smashing her foot into her father's chest.

Shikaku was sent flying through the air and crashed into the water below with a large cracking sound.

"ROOOOOOOOAAAARRR!"

Kanoko's head jerked over to where the sound originated. Off in the distance and back on land, violent red and orange chakra ripped through the field, burning debris and pushing down trees.

"NAARRRRRUTOOOOO!" Kanoko called out when she realized the person underneath his body, about to be split in half, was Sasuke.

" _Flying Thunder god Jutsu!_ "

Crimson flew through the air, staining the ground and water a deep red.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Kanoko cried out, taking the hit for Sasuke and allowing Naruto's demonic claws to sink into her stomach.

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" _NO! KANOKO!_ " Shikamaru thought, watching Sasuke fight Naruto while Kanoko lay on the ground.

His eyes, wide and full of terror, could not be pulled from the scene before him.

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Sasuke shoved Naruto off of Kanoko before gripping Naruto's jacket and tossing him back out onto the water with an angry roar.

The air thinned as the white lights started to flash around Sasuke.

"CHIDORI!"

Naruto spun around in the water and used his massive demonic chakra to build a wall in front of him.

The chirping of a thousand birds traveled through the air, before ending with a loud boom. Orange chakra met white chakra with a loud boom. The shock wave pushed the two users away from each other. The demon possessed Naruto quickly recovered and shot through the air towards Sasuke.

"RASENGAN!"

Energy swirled, distorting the air and water as it gained power and density.

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"RASENGAN!"

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The air in Shikamaru's lungs escaped as he watched a stranger floated in the air in front of Sasuke. Long, snow white hair trailing behind – the light from the moon reflecting off the silky strands. In her palm, circling around at a rapid rate was a blindly light of energy, matching Naruto's red stained Rasengan in both mass and density.

Shikamaru slowly rose to his feet, in complete awe at the girl before him.

From every article of clothing, stained in crimson, to the way she moved, his mind screamed at him that this girl was no stranger.

That she was, in fact, his sister.

.

But Shikamaru couldn't see passed the bright red eyes and the glowing white hair.

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The two swirling balls of chakra crashed into one and another with a loud, booming sound, muting the thunderous noises of the storm in the background. Water and air whipped violently over the area, sending Sasuke threw the air and ripping passed Shikamaru before sending him airborne as well.

The water moved back and forth violently, crashing viciously against the side of the cliff and flooding over onto the land surrounding the body of water.

Shikamaru coughed out violently as he pushed his hands into the ground, forcing his upper body up to get a view of the scene. Both he and Sasuke had been flung back onto to land, the water beneath them slowly seeping into the ground, making the surface muddy.

Lying a few feet in front of him, panting heavily while laying on her side, arms lying loosely beside her, was his sister. Her hair was back to its normal dark brown, making Shikamaru wondered if the white hair was a trick of the night light.

A few yards from her, also lying on the ground, panting just as heavy, was Naruto. His blonde hair was still jagged and his whiskers looked more pronounced, but the reddish orange chakra around him earlier had vanished.

.

Kanoko's reddish brown eyes felt heavy as she slowly blinked away the water clogging her vision, " _I…need…to get…to Naruto…_ " Kanoko thought before her fingers curled into the muddy ground. Digging her fingernails in, Kanoko started to drag her body over to Naruto, her arms slapping against the muddy water as she threw them forward to pull herself closer.

" _Almost…there…_ " Kanoko told herself, her arms going numb after one last pull.

Her body slapped against the ground, just inches from Naruto's glaring form. Kanoko stretched and wiggled her fingers, the very tip of her fingers grazing his skin.

Kanoko, with no extra chakra to use, pushed what little her body had into Naruto, small fuinjutsu markings pouring out of her fingers and traveling over Naruto's body.

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.

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 _Naruto panted, but grinned tiredly as he stood over Kanoko. He had finally landed a hit, right in the center of her face too!_

 _The Uzumaki spun around, looking for a round of congratulations from his friends, but his grin quickly morphed into a confused, open mouth frown. The space where his friends once stood was empty. His head jerked around the area and started shouting when the area was completely void of life._

.

The bright light of the day and the tall walls of Konoha's academy faded out of sight – the picture, instead, morphing into a dark stormy night in a place Naruto didn't recognize. Heavy rainfall crashed around him, splashing the muddy water beneath him into his eyes.

Groaning, Naruto pushed his upper body up and rubbed the dirt and water from his eyes. Blinking, the scene before Naruto started to clear.

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Naruto's body went completely still. His heart stopped as his breath got caught in his throat.

.

Lying on her stomach before him, crumpled and bleeding, was his friend and teammate.

"Kanoko!" Naruto shouted, turning her over.

Kanoko blinked lazily up at him, "…Ugg… When we… get back… I'm not…letting you eat…a single bowl of ramen…until you master breaking…genjutsus…"

Naruto blinked, confused, at Kanoko, "Genjutsu?"

"KANOKO!" Shikamaru screamed, running over and falling to his knees at his sister's side. Shoving his hands down on Kanoko's stomach wound, he yelled at Naruto, "Give me one of Kanoko's patching seals! Quick!"

Naruto nodded, quickly twisting his body around and ripping supplies out of this ninja pouch – looking for one of the seals. Pulling it out, he quickly moved Shikamaru's hands out of the way and slapped it down on Kanoko's wound.

Pushing chakra into the seal, he watched it glow and expand.

"You know…it's quite rude. The way you brats refuse to die."

Shikamaru's and Naruto's heads jerked up to see the blonde mind manipulator strut out from behind the shadows. Asami smirked at the growling boys and moved to lean against Shikaku's stiff body.

"Get away from my father, you bitch!" Shikamaru shouted at Asami, standing suddenly, his fists tight and shaking.

Asami snaked her arms around Shikaku's limp one and gave Shikamaru a wink, "Oh…I think not. I quite like having him by my side." Asami reached a hand up and caressed the side of Shikaku's jaw, "I think I'll keep him."

Shikamaru teeth gritted, but held his position. He wasn't about to leave his sister's side, not while she was like this, and he knew better than to act recklessly.

"I'M GOING TO PUNCH YOUR LIGHTS OUT!"

That didn't mean Naruto wouldn't act recklessly, though.

Naruto's chakra swirled around him and he slammed a foot down in order to propel himself forward. Naruto didn't get very far when he felt a hand wrap tightly around his arm. Turning his head back around, Naruto was met with the bloody and bruised face of one, Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto blinked, "Wow…what the hell happened to you?"

Sasuke growled low and dangerous, "You. You are the reason I **and Kanoko** look like this."

Naruto's mouth opened to speak, but his words got caught in his throat when his eyes moved down to take another look at Kanoko. Her clothes had more rips and burns than he could count and the side of her face was stained red. Her chest was rising and falling, but just even the fact that Kanoko was lying there, in the middle of a battle, with her eyes closed, meant that she had taken a serious beating.

"…I…did that?" Naruto's voice cracked, his hands shaking.

Asami smirked, "Not alone. You had the help of your little friend inside you."

Naruto's blue eyes went wide, " _No… No!_ " Naruto's head jerked over to Asami, "NO! I would NEVER use the demon fox's chakra against my friends!"

Asami's smirk grew, "Oh, but you did. And you used it well. You didn't even hesitate." Asami laughed, "I don't know why you're so upset! You got what you wanted."

Naruto recoiled at her words before shouted, "What the hell does that mean?!"

The Yamanaka woman raised an eyebrow, "You finally beat Kanoko. What else did you think I meant?"

Sasuke frowned, crossing his arms, "What are you saying?"

Shikamaru clicked his teeth and cursed until his breath before shouting to his friends, "Stop listening to her! She's trying to turn the situation back into her favor! She knows she can't fight all of us!"

Asami flicked her hand out and pointed to Naruto, "I placed your friend in a genjutsu that encouraged him to fight until either he had nothing left or his opponent was on the ground bleeding. Imagine my surprise when I learned the person he wanted to beat the most what the young Nara girl herself."

Naruto's head dipped – his eyes casted down, "You're…" His fists tightened, "I…" His eyes shifted over to Kanoko, "I didn't want to hurt her! You're twisted everything around!"

Asami raised an eyebrow and looked over to Shikamaru and Sasuke, "Is that so? I'm not sure your friends would agree."

Naruto shut his eyes, ready to take whatever harsh words and looks his friend would give him.

Shikamaru shrugged and drawled out, "Eh. Everyone has wanted to bash my sister's head in at one time or another." His eyes half lidded as his tone thickened with sarcasm, "She's special like that."

Sasuke smirked and nodded, "I've even seen Hinata itching to use her gentle fist on Kanoko."

Shikamaru sighed dramatically, "Even Hinata? Ugg… My sister is so troublesome…"

A groan was heard in the background, "…I swear on your unborn child's life, if you say that word **one more time** …"

Shikamaru turned his head back to his sister, trying to hide a small smile, he gave her an annoyed look, "Why would you swear on **my** unborn child's life?"

"Why not?" Kanoko snorted while getting to her feet, "I'll probably be stuck raising the poor kid anyways while you hide from your raging wife."

Shikamaru glared lazily at his sister and grumbled low, "…Troublesome."

*SMACK*

"OW!" Shikamaru yelled, twisted around to glare at Sasuke, "What the hell was that for?!"

Sasuke shrugged and smirked, "She warned you."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, mumbling quietly about his sister turning everyone against him and how unfair it was.

Kanoko's face turned serious as she slowly walked passed her comrades – stopping just a few feet in front of Asami and Shikaku. Kanoko shifted her sharp eyes from her father, to Asami, back to her father.

"…That day, years ago, when I asked you if you would teach me shogi, do you remember it?"

Wind whipped through Kanoko's long dark locks. The dark clouds above were started to dissipate and clear, letting the full moon shine down on the water below, making it glow.

Shikaku stared blankly back at Kanoko, neither speaking nor indicating that he even heard her.

Kanoko's voice was steady as she continued, "Do you remember my and Shikamaru's 6th birthday? When I accidently knocked him into the cake when he moved to blow out the candles?"

Asami narrowed her eyes at Kanoko, "Do you really think you can break a Yamanaka's jutsu? With words alone?!"

"What about time you invited your old teammates and their families over for the first time, and you got into an two hour long argument with Inoichi about whose daughter was more adorable." Kanoko spoke, ignoring Asami's words, "Shikamaru mocked me for days – leading me to pushing him down the stairs in order to shut him up."

Shikaku's mouth twitched slightly.

Kanoko's eyes locked onto her father's dead looking ones, "When Shikamaru asked why everyone treated Naruto like he was some kind of monster, do you remember what you told him?"

Naruto's head snapped up and looked to Shikamaru.

"You told him to do what he wanted. If he wanted to hang out and play with Naruto, you would never stop him."

Shikamaru caught Naruto's shocked look and just gave him a lazy smile. Naruto blinked before his face morphed into a large grin.

"Enough! Shikaku, ATTACK HER!" Asami shouted, removed her arms from Shikaku and pointing at Kanoko.

Shikaku didn't move.

Kanoko pressed on, "You've never pressured me, even though I know everyone else is pressuring you about me. Any other shinobi father would have thrusted Shikamaru and I into the harsh world of a ninja at the first sign of our abilities and intelligence. Instead, you gave us something…something I had no idea was so important until having experienced it myself: A childhood. Not having to worry about what was hiding in the shadows while you slept. Not having to worry about putting the village at risk by failing your mission. Not having to worry about which of your friends would die next."

Kanoko exhaled deeply and looked up at the moon, "I'm sure, as both clan head and a high ranking shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, it wasn't easy or popular. To some, it must have looked like you were betraying your village by not providing it the tools to keep everyone safe. To others, it probably made you look weak – inviting others to challenge your position among both the clan and the village."

Shikamaru stepped up next to his sister, his hands in his pockets, but his eyes as equally sharp as his sister's, "So we're going to fight for you, like you fought for us. It's a real drag, but we aren't going to stop until we have you back."

Naruto leaped in between Kanoko and Shikamaru, wrapping his arms around their shoulders and pulling them in close – his wicked grin plastered over his face, "That goes triple for me! Believe it!"

Sasuke crossed his arms in the background and smirked while shrugging slightly, "Hn."

Asami's beautiful face distorted into an ugly scowl, baring her teeth at the children before her, "You vulgar little children… You think you're _**will**_ can overcome my revenge?! My hate?! My suffering?! You have no idea… NO IDEA what I've gone through!" Asami started to make hand signs, "I WON'T LET YOU DESTROY EVERYTHING AFTER I'VE MADE IT THIS FAR!"

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Asami's body dropped to the ground, her soul ripping into Shikaku's body with an explosion of chakra.

"Get her body!" Kanoko shouted before slamming her hands on the ground, "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Kanoko winced as the little bit of chakra that replenished in her body was drained.

Dark spikes smashed into Kanoko's earth wall, creating fissures and cracks. It gave enough time for the Leaf nin to leap away, narrowly missing another shadow strike.

Sasuke dove around the shadow tendrils, being the fastest of the group at this point, and grasped the body Asami discarded. He looked down at the limp body in his arms and quickly activated his Sharingan when the sight didn't make sense to him.

Kanoko back flipped to avoid another slice from the shadow stitching jutsu. Her body was moving slower than she liked due to her stomach wound and absent chakra. Her eyes narrowed when several tendrils coiled together and raced towards Kanoko.

"Gotcha!" Naruto shouted, grabbing Kanoko and pulling her out of the way. Kanoko gave Naruto an annoyed look when he grinned cockily at her, but silently thanked him regardless.

Dropping down next to Shikamaru, Naruto spoke, "What's the plan, oh wise Nara siblings?"

Shikamaru groaned and looked towards Kanoko, "I just want to point out that if you weren't my sister, no one would ever expect anything from me."

Kanoko growled at her brother before all three of them leaped in opposite directions to avoid another series of shadow spikes. "When we get back, you and I are going to have a long talk about appropriate times to argue with your sister!" Kanoko yelled while traveling through the air.

Shikamaru slammed his hands on the ground, like his sister earlier and called up an earth wall to protect himself. Several black shadows crashed into the wall while several more arched around it and flew at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru hissed in annoyance before throwing a flashbang behind him, pushing the shadows away from him. Kneeling quickly, Shikamaru ran through his hand signs and used his elongated shadow from the blast and shot it towards his possessed father.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru shouted before smirking, "Complete."

Asami cursed in Shikaku's body, "You DAMN BRAT!"

"RASENGAN!"

Asami's eyes went wide as Naruto and his clone shot towards her with a spinning ball of intense chakra.

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Asami shouted from Shikaku's body.

Naruto smashed his Rasengan into Shikaku's limp body – sending him tumbling into the ground. Kanoko jumped over and carefully approached her father's body.

Shikaku groaned as he slowly moved his body, "Ugg…Jiraiya just had to teach Naruto that move…didn't he…"

Kanoko pushed out her chakra to analyze her father's. After determining that Asami was no longer in Shikaku's body, Kanoko stuck a hand out, "Don't act like you didn't deserve it."

Shikaku sighed as he grabbed his daughter's hand, using his other to push up from the ground, "Yeah… I did."

Kanoko smirked at her father before turning to Shikamaru. Narrowing her eyes she spoke, "While I'm impressed with your ability to move from body to body so fluidly, don't think you can hide yourself from me."

'Shikamaru' growled at Kanoko, "Your sensing abilities are getting on my last nerve!"

Naruto ran next to Kanoko, "Now she has Shikamaru? How did she do that? How do we fight against someone who can move from body to body?!"

Sasuke dropped down next to the three of them, a body in his hands.

Naruto gave Sasuke a strange look, "Who the hell is that?!"

Sasuke grunted, "The woman's body."

Kanoko's eyes looked over the body Sasuke dropped at her feet. It was a man with deathly white skin and moss like green hair. Kanoko frowned at the sight, " _That…is not human._ "

Spinning her sword around, Kanoko sliced the head clean off of its body.

Naruto's eyes went wide, "WOAH! What did we talk about before?! No more killing!"

Kanoko scoffed, "I made no such promise."

Shikaku sighed at the children, "At least now Asami can't go back to that body. Not that this puts us in any better position…" Shikaku gave his daughter a look.

Kanoko shrugged again, not regretting her actions.

Shikaku continued, "If we knock whoever she has under her control, we can bring her back to the village for the Yamanaka clan to deal with."

Naruto cracked his knuckles with a wicked grin on his face, "You know…I still have yet to get Shikamaru back for that hot chili pepper in my ramen trick he pulled on me a while back."

Kanoko joined in with a smirk of her own, "Ladies first."

Naruto, the ever gentleman he is, bowed slightly and waved his arm forward, "Lead the way."

Asami gritted her teeth as she turned and fled into the forest. " _At least this kid is fast on his feet._ " Asami thought as she raced through the trees, pushing out her chakra to flood the area and cover her tracks. Asami turned her head back to see if anyone had caught up to her, but suddenly choked when something grabbed her by the throat.

Kanoko held her brother's body by the throat, not so hard as to strangle him, but enough to keep the Yamanaka controlling him in place.

"Give up. It doesn't matter whose body you take over, you're not getting away and you're all out of tricks." Kanoko told her, her tone deadly.

Asami clawed at Kanoko's hand around Shikamaru's neck. Growling out loud, Asami snarled at Kanoko before Shikamaru's mouth shifting suddenly into a smirk "You're right. I am out of tricks, but you're wrong about one thing."

Kanoko's eyes narrowed.

Asami's smirk grew into a dark grin, "There's one person that can get me out of here in an instant."

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"You."

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"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

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Both Shikamaru's and Kanoko's bodies fell limp on the ground.

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 _Asami panted as she slowly moved to her feet. Looking around, she frowned to herself, "What the hell is this…"_

 _She was standing in the middle of a battle field. Discarded weapons, broken shields, holes in the ground, and the thick stench of death covered the area. Man and woman, adults and children lay at her feet. Some missing limbs, others missing eyeballs, and some split in two._

 _Asami felt the acid rise from her stomach and nearly bent over to puke her guts out, "What the fuck is this?!"_

 _The smell of smoke traveled to her nose, causing her to look up. The sun was just beginning to set, but the sky was red for another reason._

 _Forest fires raged in the background, burning and blackening everything in its path._

" _ **You made a mistake by forcing yourself into my mind.**_ _" A deep, manly voice boomed behind her._

" _Who are you?!" Asami shouted, spinning around, only to find the space empty. Cursing loudly, Asami started to run across the field, searching for anything that could tell her what was going on._

" _Shit!" Asami cursed aloud as she tripped over a body, failing face first into the ground. Turning around to sit on her butt, she rubbed her face. Her eyes traveled to the body she tripped over._

" _What the…?!" Asami spoke in awe when her eyes focused on the headband on the dead boy's head._

" _That's…"_

" _ **The Senju Crest.**_ _" The deep voice spoke again._

 _Asami turned around, her blue eyes widening. Her pupils shrunk to pinpoints as her heart sped up – beating as fast and as harsh as a hummingbird's wings._

" _Y-y-y-yo-you-you'r-re…" Asami stuttered out, her teeth chattering and her mind going blank._

" _ **Senju Tobirama.**_ _" Tobirama, decked out in his old blue armored uniform, spoke with a frown._

 _Asami pushed her feet out, crawling backwards in pure terror, "H-how…?! You're DEAD!" With adrenaline and fear coursing through her, Asami shot up from the ground and fled rapidly across the field._

 _Asami barely felt anything as the broken weapons nicked her shins. Stumbling over another body, Asami caught herself by swing her arms out and grabbing onto thick spear sticking out of the ground._

" _ **Hn. How appropriate that you would stop here.**_ _" Tobirama told her, appearing in front of her._

 _Asami screamed as she fell back again in shock. Staring up at the Second Hokage, she was paralyzed by his blazing red eyes._

" _ **Look around you.**_ _" Tobirama told her, commanding her to look._

 _Asami shook as her eyes slowly looked down at the body underneath her hand. Her breath escaped her throat when she noticed the familiar shade of blonde hair. Lifting her hand slowly from the dead shinobi's forehead, she took a look at the insignia on his headband._

 _Asami's body shook violently as her brain told her exactly which clan the marking belonged to._

 _The Yamanaka clan._

 _._

" _ **You should have never come after my family.**_ _" Tobirama told her, bending down and gripping the front of her shirt – raising his tightened fist in the air._

 _Asami's fearful eyes locked onto Tobirama's cold ones, "P-please. Please! PLEASE! NO! I'M SORRY! PLEASE NOOOO!"_

 _._

 _Blood splattered as the sounds of knuckles meeting flesh repeated over and over again until red was the only color Tobirama could see._

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"—ko…"

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"—noko…"

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"KANOKO!"

"Uggg… Why are you always so loud, Naruto…" Kanoko groaned, holding her head.

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but Shikaku placed an arm out in front of him, "Kanoko's our only sensor. Without her, we can't be certain Asami is not the one in control."

Kanoko frowned, annoyed that she was being held under such suspicion, but understood and respected her father for his careful nature. It wasn't anything she wouldn't do to him, or anyone else, if the roles were reversed.

"It's her." Shikamaru drawled out, plopping down next to his sister, "No one can pull off that sour look, but Kanoko."

Kanoko glared at her brother, who was currently using her as a pillow.

Naruto grinned and nodded, "YAHOOO! WE WON!"

Sasuke stepped up from behind Shikaku, "…What happened to the witch?"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "She hit me with some kind of mind blast, knocking me out. It's likely that she escaped back to her real body." Kanoko paused before muttering, "A smart move on her part."

Shikaku stared expressionless at his daughter, trying to figure out why this didn't feel right to him, "I find it hard to believe Asami would just leave, even if things weren't going her way…"

Shikamaru yawned loudly, "Why was she so angry at you and Kaa-san anyways? Maybe she decided it wasn't worth her dying over."

Shikaku sighed at his son, "Look—"

"Shikaku-sama!"

All five of them looked up at the approaching voices.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cheered out, "Man, you missed everything!"

Kakashi dropped down and rubbed the back of his head with a relieved look on his face. His lazy eyes traveled around the area, from uncomfortable looking Shikaku, to the bored Sasuke, down to the relaxing Nara twins, to his hyper active student, " _Well…everyone's alive. That's a good sign._ "

"You know how it is…" Kakashi didn't get to finish as Kanoko and Naruto cut him off with a irritated chorus.

"Got lost on the road of life again. We know."

Kakashi looked sheepish as he chuckled lightly, "I was going to say that the two of you are a hard pair to track down…"

"Like you did any work." Pakkun drawled out, giving Kakashi an annoyed look.

Kakashi just sweat-dropped at his pug's comment.

Shikaku sighed, looking at his tired, bruised kids and their friends, "Did Neji get back in time, or are you on your own?"

Shikamaru's head shot up. Spinning around to look at Kakashi, he asked in a tense voice, "What about the others?! Choji, Sakura, Kiba, Lee…"

Kakashi interrupted Shikamaru by indicating that Shikamaru calm down, "Neji did make it back to Konoha. He told the Hokage what happened before passing out. He was transported to the hospital immediately while Tsunade sent out the medic corps."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth after hearing about Neji being transported.

"My ninja dogs helped guide the medics to the others, but we won't know their conditions until we get back." Kakashi finished.

"Tsunade sent out Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro of the Sand. I ran into them before meeting up with you. I had them back up the others. The only ones I'm concerned about right now are the four of you." Shikaku told his son before his eyes rested on Kanoko.

Kakashi followed his jounin commander's eyes and studied Kanoko. If there was one thing Kakashi was familiar with, it was chakra exhaustion. Not only did Kanoko appear to be suffering from it, it looked like she earned herself another good sized scar on her stomach, " _At least she made that patching seal. Kami knows she's going to need a plethora of those, if she keeps picking up my traits…_ "

"Pssfff! We're fine!" Naruto scoffed, "There's nothing that can beat the future Hokage and his posse!"

Sasuke growled at Naruto, "Who are you calling your posse…"

Naruto smirked and turned his nose up to look down on Sasuke, "Who do you think?!"

"Why you…!" Sasuke started, his hands stretching out to snap Naruto's neck.

"Hatake-san! Nara-sama!" Two medics appeared from behind the bushes. One dropped down by Kanoko and Shikamaru, his hands start to glow, while the other went over to Sasuke. Looking over at Shikaku, the one by Kanoko asked, "What is everyone's condition?"

"Sasuke and my two children are going to need some patching and a chakra transfer." Shikaku spoke cleanly. He looked at Naruto, "Naruto and myself are fine."

The medic nodded and continued to work on the Nara twins.

Kakashi walked over to Shikaku and spoke quietly, "I don't know what happened out here, but to say the brass is unhappy with Kanoko right now would be an understatement." Looking around a bit, he followed up, "What happened out here?"

Shikaku sighed heavily, "It's a long story I'd rather not have to share more than once."

Kakashi looked like he wanted to push, but after looking back at his students, he decided to wait, "Understood."

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"AAH!" A woman gasped, her breath heavy as her lungs sucked in air rapidly.

Kabuto pulled his glowing hand off of the blonde's back, "I must say…that was quite the close call. I didn't think you were coming back…Asami."

Asami placed a hand on her heart before glaring at Kabuto, still panting heavily. Grinding her teeth, she hissed at him, "You knew…you knew, and you DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME?!"

Kabuto jumped back with a smirk on his face when Asami lashed a kunai at him. Adjusting his glasses he chuckled, "Well…I had my suspicions…" Kabuto's smirk grew, "Thank you for confirming it, though."

Asami stumbled to her feet, "I ALMOST DIED! He nearly beat me to death with nothing but his fists! With my ancestors' bodies pooled around me!"

Kabuto's eyebrows shot up, "Wow. Well, he wasn't the Second Hokage for nothing I suppose."

The Yamanaka growled, her fists tightening around her kunai, "And what do you plan to do now? I'm never going to get my revenge now! Not with a dead Hokage in my way!"

Kabuto shrugged, "You could always convince your boyfriend to wage war on the Hidden Leaf."

Asami paused, letting that idea roll around in her head, " _It wouldn't be easy and it could take some time, but_ —"

"Well, at least, you could have." Kabuto said suddenly, a hand on his chin in thought.

Asami's eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about?"

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, "Well, after nearly killing Darui and his team, they scampered back to the Cloud. There's no way you can make it back now and without you there to convince the Raikage of your loyalty…"

"ARRRRGGG!" Asami shouted, slamming her fists into the tree beside her, using her kunai to slash through the bark. After a few moments, Asami's panting started to lessen, "You know what? It doesn't matter anyways. I can always go to the Akatsuki. They'll obliterate the Second Hokage's new family to make sure he doesn't interfere in their plans."

Kabuto gave Asami a pained look, "About that…"

Asami growled, "What. Now."

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*SLIIIIIICE*

Blood painted the grass below as Asami's body was sliced in two.

Standing behind the now deceased Yamanaka was a bandaged man, holding out a sword with his tongue. Chuckling darkly, the man spoke, "Unfortunately for you, I can't let that happened. For, the reincarnated Senju Tobirama is worth more to me alive, than he is dead."

Kabuto smirked at his master before his eyes travelled down to the wide eyed, dead form of one Yamanaka Asami, " _At least now she can join her husband and unborn son in the pit of the Shinigami's stomach._ "

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Kanoko glared at Naruto as he paced back and forth. They were standing at in front of The Council's chambers, waiting for someone to let them know they could come in. Shikamaru and Sasuke had been dragged to the hospital against their wills once they had reached Konoha's gates.

Kanoko wasn't surprised when the ANBU showed up for her and her father, guiding the two of them to the Hokage's tower. They said there were to bring Shikaku and Kanoko only, but there was no telling Naruto "No-anything". These particular ANBU looked like they had suffered Naruto's pranking wrath in the past and decided the pay wasn't enough and let Naruto tag along.

Kakashi also tagged along, but again, there were certain people in this village that heard the word "No" and translated that as "Do as you wish" in their brains.

"What is going on in there?! I can't take it!" Naruto shouted, pulling at his hair.

Kakashi sighed at his student, "If anyone has a right to be nervous and complain, it's Kanoko, not you Naruto."

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, "How could anyone think Kanoko would betray the village?! And isn't it clear what happen?! The Cloud framed Kanoko, kidnapped her, were betrayed themselves, and now she's back! Easy!"

"It's not that simple Naruto…" Kakashi tried to explain just before the doors opened.

Shikaku stood at the door, "They want to see you now." He told his daughter.

Kanoko nodded, walking passed her father.

Naruto was hot on Kanoko's tail, but was grabbed by the back of the collar by Shikaku.

"Not you." Shikaku told him.

Naruto thrashed, "HEY! WHY NOT! I gotta be there for support! It's a Team 7 thing! Right Kakashi-sensei?!"

Kakashi sighed and looked at Shikaku who closed the door behind Kanoko, "They're not letting you in either?"

Shikaku didn't respond. He simply stared at the door, his fists tight.

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Kanoko walked into the room. In the center was a table. Seated around the table were people she recognized and people she didn't. One had an ANBU mask, telling her he was likely the head of the department or a close second. She also noted three of her former students: Danzo, Koharu and Homura.

At the head of the table was Tsunade.

Folding her hands on the table, Tsunade spoke, "I'm going to be blunt, Kanoko. You're father has explained the situation. We know of the Cloud's involvement and of the traitor's, Yamanaka Asami. However, your teammates assigned to you for patrol duty spoke of the events differently."

Kanoko stared ahead, her hands at her sides.

After a moment of silence, Danzo spoke with a smirk on his face, "You have a proper shinobi standing in front of Lady Tsunade. If you wish for her to speak, you must tell her so."

Tsunade stopped herself from snapping at the elder. Turning to Kanoko, Tsunade spoke, "What are your memories of the events before your capture?"

"Hokage-sama, near the end of our assigned patrol duty five Cloud shinobi came into my sensing radius. After learning that our team's skills were not a match against these foreign shinobi, our mission leader ordered Takeshi and Kyoko to report back to the village. Our team leader was too injured to continue fighting. In a last attempt to remove the threat, I activated a large seal explosion. Another Cloud shinobi joined the fight just as I activated the seal, helping all but one escape the blast. At that point, this new shinobi used an ancient Uzumaki seal to seal my chakra and movements." Kanoko explained quick and to the point, her voice never wavering.

Homura was the first to speak, "You activated a bomb in the same location as your injured team leader?!"

Kanoko nodded, "Yes."

Homura slammed his hands on the table and turned to Tsunade, "Her actions resulted in the death of her mission leader! There must be consequences for such actions!"

"I disagree. To be taken prisoner when it was clear that that was the Cloud's intent is unacceptable. This chunin made the right call." Danzo spoke firmly.

Koharu and the ANBU official nodded, agreeing with Danzo.

Turning to Kanoko, Koharu spoke, "You stated that they used an ancient Uzumaki seal on you. How did you know? Did they tell you?"

Kanoko shook her head, "No. I recognized the patterns."

"Recognized the patterns?" Tsunade asked, leaning back, "Have you been studying with Jiraiya?"

Kanoko shook her head, "No."

"Then how did you know?" Danzo asked, his eye narrowing.

"Uzumaki Naruto is on my team and I have been helping him learn more about his clan. His clan specialized in sealing, leading most of our research in that direction." Kanoko explained.

If anyone at the table seemed suspicious of that answer, they didn't show it or say it.

There was another moment of silence before Tsunade looked around the table, "Anymore discussion?"

At the silence, Tsunade looked back up at Kanoko, "We will be taking the day to deliberate your status in the village. You will be escorted to the hospital, so your wounds may be tended to. You will stay there overnight with an ANBU guard. You are not to leave the hospital until I speak with you again. Do you understand your orders?"

Kanoko nodded, "Yes."

"Good. Now leave." Tsunade told her bluntly, waving her out.

Kanoko opened the door and closed it behind her quickly, so the council didn't have to hear Naruto as he loudly questioned her, "So? SO? SOOOO?!"

Kanoko didn't show anything on her face as she spoke, "I am to report to the hospital and remain there until the Hokage contacts me."

"WHHHAAAAAT?!" Naruto cried out. Fuming, Naruto grabbed the handle to the council's chambers, "I'm going to give that old hag a piece of my mind!"

"Naruto! Wait!" Kakashi called out, worried that he was going to get in trouble again.

Kanoko placed a hand over Naruto's, "Naruto."

Naruto looked up at Kanoko with an annoyed look on his face.

"It's ok. Let's go visit everyone at the hospital. I want to make sure everyone is ok." Kanoko told him with a blank look.

Naruto grumbled, not completely sold on the idea.

Kanoko caught his eyes again, "Have you heard anything about Sakura?"

Naruto looked down at that, "…No."

Kanoko nodded, "Then we need to go see her. If you don't see her before Sasuke does, she going to think he cares about her more than her teammates does, and then fall in love with him more." Kanoko finished, in an attempt to trick Naruto into leaving.

Naruto's blue eyes went wide, "What?! We need to go!" And in that instant, Naruto was out the door and running at full speed to the hospital.

Kanoko watched Naruto's back as he ran down the stairs and smiled, " _Thank you for believing in me, Naruto._ "

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"Off woman! OOOOOFFFFF!" Shikamaru called out, batting his teammate's hands away.

"No! How dare you leave me behind on such an important mission!" Ino yelled at her teammate, "AND BRING BILLBOARD BROW INSTEAD!"

Shikamaru glared at Ino and mumbled, "I didn't want to bring her with me either… girls are nothing but troublesome."

Ino crossed her arms, not liking Shikamaru's answered.

"Come on Ino! Leave the poor guy alone!" Choji told her, laughing that the pair.

Ino point her finger at him, "And YOU! Taking ALL THREE PILLS! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF?!"

Choji laughed sheepishly, sweat-dropping as spoke, "It all worked out in the end?"

Ino opened her mouth, but found she couldn't speak, so was so angry.

"Come on guys. We all were worried about you. Cut your teammate some slack." Asuma told the boys, a small smirk on his face.

"Only when she gives us some…" Shikamaru muttered, turning to look out the window, watching the clouds go by, " _Choji is right, but so is Ino. Everyone did almost die and it was sheer luck that everyone came out ok._ " His fists tightened around the sheets, " _The only reason everything worked out is because Tou-san showed up and Kanoko freed herself. I didn't plan well enough and when it came down to the actual fighting, I'm a one trick pony!_ "

Shikamaru frowned at himself. Grabbing the sheets, he threw them back and jumped off the bed.

"Where are you going?" Asuma asked his student.

"To see if they've checked in my sister yet." Was all the Shikamaru said before closing the door behind him.

Walking down the hall, he made it to the front desk, "Has Nara Kanoko been checked in?"

The nurse looked through the book, "Yes…looks like she's in room 312."

Shikamaru nodded in thanks.

Making his way up the stairs, he found the room he was looking for. He placed his hand on the door handle and listened. Hearing nothing, concluded Naruto wasn't visiting his sister, he walked into the room.

The first thing Shikamaru noticed, besides his sister, was the guard in the corner. Giving the guard a suspicious look he turned to his sister, who was reading her chart, "You're so weird. Who reads their own chart?"

Kanoko shrugged, putting in on the stand next to her bed, "How are you doing?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Fine. How's Sakura?"

"Well, I'll be no longer giving her any explosive tags, seals, or bombs until she learns how **not** to blow herself up, but she doing well. She's mostly talking nonstop about how Sasuke showed up last minute like a knight in shining armor." Kanoko sighed tiredly, "Just when I thought I kicked that bad habit out of her..."

Shikamaru snorted, "I don't know if you can call obsession and stalking a _bad habit_."

Kanoko smirked, shaking her head. Looking up at her brother again she asked, "What are you really here for Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru turned slightly pink and mumbled, "What? A brother can't visit his sister in the hospital? Troublesome woman…"

Giving her brother a look, warning him about that word around her, she pushed, "When my room is located two flights of steps and three halls down from yours, and you haven't even had your midday nap yet, I know it's serious."

Shikamaru walked over to his sister's bed and shoved her over. Lying down next to her with his head resting on her shoulder, he spoke in an annoyed tone, "Just let me sleep, troublesome woman."

Kanoko took her pillow and slapped it in his face, making Shikamaru grumble loudly. Kanoko just smirked at him, picking the pillow back up and pacing it behind her head.

The sun shined through the window going into the room, giving the room a warm feeling.

Kanoko hummed lightly, giving into the calming atmosphere and relaxing her body. Laying her head back on the pillow with her jaw resting lightly on top of her brother's head, Kanoko stared out the window and thought.

" _I still don't understand…if the whole point was to cause Shikaku and Yoshino pain, why use the Cloud to kidnap me? It would have been easier and simpler to wait until Shikamaru's team was sent on another mission then take over his sensei's mind. Clearly, she had the skill…why go through all the time and effort of manipulating the Cloud… Why even kidnap me and not gut me when they had the chance? It was a gamble to assume that Shikaku was willing and able to leave his village, against protocol, to help Shikamaru and I._ "

Kanoko's eyebrows creased, " _If the sum is less than the combined components of the equation, then you are either missing pieces of the formula…_ "

The former Hokage shifted her eyes to the sleeping form of her brother.

"… _Or the sum is just a part of the equation, and not the total."_

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The room was dark.

The only source of light were the few small torches located in the corners of the room – and only enough light to allow the shadowed figures to move about.

Shadows danced around the room as the figures moved to sit around a large table.

"Are we missing anyone?"

Silence followed.

"Then we'll start…"

"I hear all members of the Shikamaru's team returned, with their assigned mission completed."

"You are correct. The Hyuuga and the Akimichi were transported immediately, but are stable and recovering without issue."

A chorus of murmuring and nodding followed.

"Were there any complications?"

"No. Everything went as designed. Yamanaka Asami informed the boy of his parent's dark past. He will be curious to know more and his parents will refuse to tell him."

"And the council?"

"They have made their decision and will be informing the clan soon."

"Good."

"What about the Jinchuriki?"

"What about the boy?"

"A blind man could see how he sways the Hokage with his boyish charm."

"That will not be a problem. Jiraiya will take him from the village soon, in order to keep him from the Akatsuki."

Nodding followed again.

All but one.

"…What makes you so certain this will work? The Hokage, at the very least Danzo, will take notice of these events and how one woman's spite could not be the root cause."

Silence took over again until a deep voice spoke low.

"The Hokage will be too busy cleaning up the mess at the Waterfall border, as well as preventing a war with the Cloud. The Cloud does not like to admit fault and will lash out—blaming the Leaf for their own foolishness."

"As for Danzo…that has already been handled."

The room turned quiet for the third time.

"If there is nothing else…we are adjourned."

The sounds of chairs scratching against the stone floor and feet shuffling echoed in the small room. One by one, the shadows flickered out of the room until only two were left.

One of the figures slowly rose from their chair and turned towards the head of the table, "Everything comes down to the boy. What makes you so sure he will be strong enough to follow through?"

The elder at the head of the table folded his hands, the flames behind outlining his spiky ponytail and sharp face.

"Because he will have a lot more to lose than you or I."

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 **Author's Note:**

 **So, what do you guys think?! :D**

 **Quite honestly, I rewrote this chapter five or more times! At first it was pure, bloody action. Then it was drama filled angst. There was even a point where a main character died! But that was mostly me typing angrily… Let's just say a RPG dropped at Naruto's feet, from thin air, and he decided, "Why the hell not?"**

 **But… None of it was actually a part of the story and I'm not sure why I kept typing!**

 **There are only one to three more chapters until Shippuden! YAY!**

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 **I hope you enjoy this chapter and those to come!**

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	35. Chapter 33

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"Where do we begin?"

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Tsunade sat at the head of the table, her elbows on the table and her fingers threaded together in a tight grasp. Standing behind her were her two aids: Shizune and Torune. There were present due to their role in assisting Tsunade, but were forbidden from taking part in the discussions. They would only observe and do as they were directed.

Opening her eyes slowly, Tsunade's expression sharpened. "We start at the beginning, with the Village Hidden by a Waterfall."

Koharu shook her head, "Then we already disagree. There is no denying that all this begun with Nara Kanoko."

Danzo nodded, "I agree with you, however, I also believe we should start with the massacre at the Land of Water. Best to start on common ground and move on from there."

Tsunade shifted her eyes from each side of the table. Seeing no objections, she turned to her ANBU commander.

The masked man nodded, "Jiraiya is out in the field right now, trying to gather more information, but for right now, we can confirm the presence of the newly formed group: The Akatsuki. Specifically, the Leaf's own Uchiha Itachi."

Danzo scoffed, his eyes narrowing, "Uchiha Itachi is not one of our own and you would do well to avoid saying such."

If the ANBU Commander flinched, it was covered up by the black dog mask and thick brown cloak.

"Regardless," Homura started, "The other villages will see it differently."

Koharu nodded at Tsunade, "Homura is right. Some will see our presence and Uchiha Itachi's involvement as one in the same. They will conclude this was a deliberate attack by the Leaf. The Sand is already pounding on our door with questions – hence the presence of the late Kazekage's children in our village."

"But they were not so disagreeable to deny a request by our Hokage." The ANBU Commander spoke.

Tsunade closed her eyes and exhaled deeply through her nose, "Those children did not aid us because the request came from me, but rather because of the objective of the mission."

Homura scoffed, a frown on his face, "And now we are back to Nara Kanoko."

Koharu looked between the two, "What do you mean, Lady Tsunade?"

"The youngest, Gaara, suggested that they were only taking the mission due to a debt he owed Nara Kanoko." Tsunade explained

This caught Danzo's interest, "What debt was that?"

The ANBU Commander cut in, "Reports from the Suna Invasion suggest Nara Kanoko removed a dangerous seal from the Jinchuuriki's body. The same mark placed on Uchiha Sasuke's neck by the sannin, Orochimaru."

The room was silent. Tsunade clenched her fingers together, " _Orochimaru…_ "

"We are getting off topic." Koharu spoke suddenly, "We cannot afford to be deviated. Let us wrap of one discussion before leading into another."

Tsunade nodded, "Which leads us back to the massacre at the Village Hidden by a Waterfall. Do we have a solid clue as to why the Akatsuki targeted this village?"

"Besides the obvious?" Danzo told her harshly, "After Itachi's attempted kidnapping of the Leaf's Jinchuuriki-"

"Naruto. His name is Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade told Danzo, her eyes cold.

Danzo continued as if he wasn't interrupted, "-it is logical to conclude that the Akatsuki's mission was to take their own tailed beast: The Seven Tailed Beetle."

The other members at the table nodded. Homura looked to Tsunade, "They are proceeding faster than Jiraiya anticipated. Is he still planning on taking Uzumaki Naruto from the village?"

The Hokage nodded, "Yes, but not right now. He will need more information on the Akatsuki's movements before it will be safe for Naruto to leave the Leaf."

"Which just leaves us with the fall out. As stated earlier, the other villages will be overly suspicious of our actions that day. We will have to be careful in our interactions with the other villages in the future." Koharu spoke thoughtfully before taking a moment to speak again, "We should put all our shinobi who are chunin rank or higher though the basics of foreign relations. There will be those who will try to provoke reactions out of our shinobi while they are outside the borders of the Land of Fire."

Homura nodded in agreement, "I would support such action. We should take all possible measures to avoid another war."

Tsunade turned her head and nodded to Shizune. The medic quickly jotted down the suggestion and labeled it for immediate action once the meeting was over.

Tsunade looked to the ANBU Commander, "Have you received any updated information on survivors?"

The masked man nodded, "The damage was concentrated outside of their _**hidden**_ village. It is likely, whatever their goal was, the Akatsuki got what they wanted before reaching the Waterfall's secret village."

The Fifth Hokage nodded solemnly, " _If it was the Leaf instead, with their eyes locked on Naruto… I have no doubt in my mind that the fool would rush out there and given himself up, in order to protect the village._ "

"Even if we offer our help, at this point the Village Hidden in a Waterfall will turn us away. It is best to monitor the situation and provide what assistance we can from a distance. At the same time, we will need to solidify relations with our other allies." Koharu spoke, "Two of our allies have been weakened by nuke-nin originating from Konoha. This will not be overlooked so easily."

Torune took down the information this time.

The room went silent again as they all mentally prepared themselves for the next topic.

Looking at noone in particular, Tsunade spoke tiredly, "Who wants to start?"

Homura quickly jumped to speak, "Lady Tsunade, I think-"

Danzo interrupted Homura, "Leaving Nara Kanoko as an individual out of it for the moment, we cannot allow the Cloud to believe we will just stand idly by as they infiltrate our borders, disrupt the daily operations of our village, and kidnap our people."

"I agree with you Danzo, however, a decision on this topic cannot be made without also discussing Nara Kanoko and whether she plays a direct part in this scheme." Homura spoke low, trying to hold in his irritation at being interrupted.

Koharu leaned forward, her eyes closed as she spoke evenly, "Nara Kanoko is a mystery within a mystery. Her abilities, her knowledge of things before her time, her mental state, her vast skill set - we cannot continue to ignore such feats and pass them off as traits of a prodigy. A real discussion about her intentions, loyalty, and future here in Konoha needs to be had."

Homura smirked, grateful that someone was finally seeing things his way.

"However." Koharu started up again, opening her eyes slowly, "Whether she be a traitor or not, this has very little to do with the Cloud. They could have turned anyone. The fact that they disregarded all agreements made between the two of our villages by, once again, invading our lands and taking our shinobi, is inexcusable."

The ANBU Commander nodded, his arms folded over his chest, "I am inclined to believe Shikaku-san and his daughter. My agents have pursued the reports in the village surrounding Nara Kanoko. They report that these actions were unlikely to have come from the young Nara. For one, the approach was sloppy - unless the intent was to be noticed. Second, I was made aware that Nara Kanoko can perform the late Fourth Hokage's time/space jutsu. I don't believe I need to explain how easy it would have been for her to avoid being spotted. Based on these facts, I am willing to conceive these acts were a show put on by operatives of the Cloud."

Koharu nodded, "Which dovetails into why the Cloud would want to kidnap Nara Kanoko. It is no secret that the Fourth Raikage has always been bitter of the late Namikaze Minato's jutsu – especially after facing off in battle with him. A young, impressionable shinobi with such genius likely appealed greatly to the Raikage's warmonger side."

Homura placed a hand on his chin in thought, "Add in the whisperings of Yamanaka Asami, and it is humiliating to admit we didn't foresee this coming."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised Homura. I thought you still believed Nara Kanoko was a traitor."

Homura folded his arms, "Do not misunderstand me Lady Tsunade, I still greatly question her motives and actions in all of this. This doesn't mean we shouldn't have foreseen the possibility that another nation would flip Nara Kanoko against us. And it is something we must consider going forward – if this board decides that Nara Kanoko is not to be prosecuted."

"There is another factor here we have yet to talk about." Danzo started, "Not only did the Cloud attempt to take shinobi of the Leaf, but the Leaf's Jounin Commander's daughter. That, alone, should be considered an act of war. The Jounin Commander is essential to Konoha's military. He also holds a detail understanding of both the operations and the security of our village. For another village to hold such leverage over him…"

Koharu nodded, "Shikaku is also our primary war general in both tactics and resource management. We would have been at a _**great**_ disadvantage if the Cloud had decided on a full invasion after successfully kidnapping Nara Kanoko."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, a painful headache coming on, "If we go to war with the Cloud, after what happened with the Village Hidden in a Waterfall, we will be without any ally support. In fact, other villages may support the Cloud either out of hate for the Leaf or out of fear of us, believing we were the instigators in this whole situation."

Danzo turned to look at Tsunade, "The Cloud will not admit fault. They will point fingers at us and tell others that we planted Yamanaka Asami in order to start a war." Danzo's tone got darker, "But if we **do not act** , the Cloud will interpret our inaction as **weakness** and the next time, because there will be a next time if we do nothing, they will get what they want and we will be left vulnerable because of it."

A deafening silence fell over the room as Tsunade pushed her chair from the table roughly. Standing up, she turned around and walked over to the window. Staring out it, she thought, " _What would you do, Grandfather? Would you go to war, sending hundreds or more to their deaths, or would you cripple yourself in the name of peace?_ "

Tsunade shook her head lightly with a small smirk on her face, " _Great-uncle Tobi would simply knock Grandpa out and then put the Cloud in its place – all before lunch._ " With that thought, a lightbulb went off in Tsunade's head.

Turning around, Tsunade crossed her arms underneath her chest. With a smirk, she spoke, "Then we apply pressure in a different way."

Homura looked to Koharu and Danzo before turning back to Tsunade and speaking carefully, "The Cloud is economically more stable than the Leaf. Our merchants and farmers don't do enough business with the Cloud to have any sort of effect if we forbid them from trade."

"But we don't do enough business with their merchants, either, for them to hold anything against us." Danzo added.

Tsunade's smirk grew, "I'm talking about rubbing poison into an open wound and holding the antidote at arm's length."

Shizune opened her mouth, her face showing clear confusion, but quickly closed it when Torune sent her a look. She silently thanked him as the elders looked at one and another.

Slowly, Koharu asked, "What are you proposing, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade sat back down in her chair, leaning back with her legs crossed and a wicked smirk on her face, "The Cloud is determined to blame us for the witch known as Yamanaka Asami. While we will deny this publically, we will inform the Raikage that the Yamanaka was, in fact, an operative we sent in to learn more about the Cloud's militia and its weaknesses."

Torune's and Shizune's mouths fell open.

Homura choked slightly on his own spit as he struggled to find his words, "Are you insane?! You are _**provoking**_ war with the Cloud!"

Tsunade smirked, "I didn't say we would tell the Raikage's staff. I said that we would tell _**the Raikage**_."

Danzo narrowed his eyes, "You're going to blackmail the Raikage…" The corner of Danzo's mouth lifted slightly, " _Perhaps there is hope for the Leaf yet._ "

Koharu nodded, starting to follow, "The Raikage will take the threat seriously, since he was the one who was compromised. He will refuse to show weakness to his people by starting a war with the Leaf over something he will blame himself for. Instead, the Cloud will recoil and work on cleaning up the mess left behind by Yamanaka Asami."

Homura scoffed, "If he isn't consumed by rage at the gull of our outright extortion plot."

Tsunade frowned, her eyes narrowing, and spoke in a thin tone, "Do you have a better idea?"

Homura sighed, leaning back slightly, "No. There is no easy solution to this problem. You will have to be careful in how you inform him. If anyone else in the Cloud hears of this, they will form a coup against the Raikage. The Raikage will have no choice at that point, then to start a war with the Leaf – if only to distract his people from his own weakness."

"Then we will leave the Cloud situation in your capable hands, Hokage-sama." Koharu spoke, a small smile on her face.

Tsunade smirked back before clapping her hands, "Well, if there is nothing else-"

Homura jumped up, "Lady Tsunade! We have still not addressed the elephant in the room: Nara Kanoko!"

Tsunade frowned, humming low in irritation. Taking a deep breath, Tsunade pointed her darkening eyes at Homura and spoke, "I will only say this once, so I expect everyone to listen."

The Fifth Hokage paused to make sure all eyes were on her before starting, "This council was formed by my sensei, the late Sarutobi Hiruzen – the Third Hokage, to provide advice and input on matters relating to the village as a whole. I respect the knowledge and experience this council provides."

Tsunade's brown eyes sharpened as her expression turned harsh, "However. When it comes to individual shinobi, their development and loyalty to Konoha, I will neither be pressured nor questioned. We have systems in place for determining loyal. We assign trusted chunin and jounin to oversee the training of our ninja. I and a group of qualified shinobi of the Leaf determine which of these shinobi will rise to the rank of chunin and jounin. If you feel that there is gap or weakness in the system, I expect you to file a report, just like everyone else."

The Hokage turned to Homura, making him flinch slightly at the intensity of her chakra, "But if your intent is to waste my time with accusations lacking any concrete evidence, I will consider the quality of your knowledge and experience to have **expired**."

Koharu jumped in defense of her former teammate, "Lady Tsunade! That is too harsh! You don't know that these claims are factless!"

"And you have no proof that they are." Danzo told Koharu, "The Hokage is correct. This is a waste of time. Nara Kanoko has proved herself a loyal and dedicated shinobi of the Leaf on several occasions – which is more than the majority of the younger generation."

Homura got over his shock and slammed his hands down on the table, "Just what kind of evidence are you look for Tsunade?! Nara Kanoko herself admitted that Jiraiya was not teaching her fuinjutsu! From who is she learning such advance fuinjutsu, if not from Jiraiya?! What about when she fled the village to find Naruto and Jiraiya?! No one knew she was gone until her parents were looking for her! Nara Kanoko is no ordinary ninja! Just lining her up next to her peers, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji, is a laugh! They aren't even on the same level! How does a genin, now chunin, become so powerful in the short timeframe of 12 years?!"

Homura panted heavily, having shouted all that out quickly.

"You seem to forget, Homura, who Nara Kanoko is related to." Danzo spoke, his eye closed and his tone even.

"And that information is supposed to comfort us?" The ANBU Commander spoke, "While I find no evidence of disloyalty from Nara Kanoko, there is no doubt in my mind that Rokumaru is looking to fill the power gap left by the Uchiha with the Nara clan."

"Enough!" Tsunade shouted, her voice gruff, "Nara Kanoko is a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, and I will do what I see fit with her, as is my right as the Hokage." Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her audience, "Unless anyone would like to challenge me for that title…"

Eyes shifted away as the room went quiet.

Hearing no arguments, the Fifth Hokage continued, "I will entertain one last concern, if there is one. Though, I warn you… if the words: Nara or Kanoko is in that sentence, you are going to learn firsthand how far I can throw a person."

Silence took over for a moment until Koharu spoke up, "What of... _the girl's_ teammates? The ones that claim she wasn't kidnapped. What of them? Has an interrogation taken place?"

Tsunade rested her head on her hands before answering slowly, "Just after word had travelled that Shikamaru's mission was a success, both were found dead. My medics tell me the likely cause was suicide."

"I see…" Koharu spoke, "Do we have any leads on why they would lie?"

" _Yes._ " Tsunade thought, trying not to look at anyone, "No, but a full investigation will occur."

Koharu nodded before speaking, "Then I have nothing else to ask or add. I will assist your staff members with the education of foreign relations, if you don't mind."

Tsunade nodded, "Not at all." The Hokage looked to the rest of the group, "We are adjourned. You all may leave."

The group nodded to the Hokage as they rose to leave. Tsunade watched them all file out. When the door closed, Shizune spoke, "Wow. That was intense!"

Torune nodded, "I agree. It was rather interesting that Danzo supported Kanoko against the others."

Shizune raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? I thought you said that Danzo respected those loyal to Konoha."

Torune nodded, "He does. However, before I left on my last mission for Danzo, I overheard the tail end of a conversation between him and Rokumaru. They left on poor terms, to say the least."

Tsunade turned to Torune, "What do you know?"

Torune shook his head, "Not much. Just that they both are planning something and that they have competing interests."

"That doesn't sound good…" Shizune spoke, frowning.

Tsunade sighed, rubbing her forehead as she looked out the window, "No. No it does not."

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"Ahh!"

*THUD*

"Uggg… I hate you…" Shikamaru groaned out, his words slightly muffled by the floor. He was currently spread out, flat on his stomach, with his face pressed into the ground.

Kanoko leaned over slightly, looking down at her brother from on top of the bed. Raising an eyebrow, she spoke, "I warned you. No drooling. Ever."

Shikamaru turned his head to glare tiredly at his sister, "I was sleeping… How was I supposed to know I was drooling?"

Kanoko shrugged, "The rest of us seemed to have it figured out."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "And just how many other people do you sleep with?"

The only answer Shikamaru got was a pillow to the face.

The sound of the door opening caused both siblings to turn from each other and look up at the door curious. Blinking a couple times at the scene, Sasuke decided to ignore the Nara on the ground and turned his head towards the one in the bed.

"Yes Sasuke?" Kanoko asked, curious as to why the Uchiha would be in her hospital room.

A couple seconds passed before Sasuke spoke, "Can I speak to you…" Sasuke look down at Shikamaru, "…alone?"

"No." Shikamaru answered before his sister could. He was now sitting up and staring blankly at Sasuke – his eyes locked on.

Kanoko rolled her eyes at her brother, "Ignore him." Kanoko started to push off the sheets, "I wanted to visit Sakura anyways. We can talk and walk."

Shikamaru got up quickly and stood in his sister's path with his arms crossed, "You, literally, just got checked into the hospital. You aren't going anywhere."

The younger Nara's eye twitched, "Since when do you tell **me** what to do?" Kanoko stared at her brother. Inside, she was just plain confused, " _He'll bitch, gripe and moan, but demand? Order? I didn't think he knew how…_ "

Shikamaru didn't move.

Kanoko shifted her eyes from her brother to Sasuke, "Give us a couple minutes." She told Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but turned around and closed the door behind him as he walked out.

Turning her eyes back to Shikamaru, Kanoko spoke, "What is going on Shikamaru? First you're being clingy, which isn't all that usual now that I'm saying it out loud, and now you're ordering me around?"

Shikamaru slid his hands in his pockets and stared at his sister, eyes half-lidded, "Barely half a day ago you face off against a possessed Tou-san, a demon-like Naruto and who knows how many Cloud shinobi. You're suffering from a stomach wound, chakra exhaustion, and a head wound – which would explain so much if this wasn't normal for you."

His fists tightened in his pockets, his tone getting harsher, "And just weeks before this, you come home with a half healed hole in your chest. Barely a month before that, it was internal bleed and, what do you know, chakra exhaustion! Again!"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, his whole body tensing up as he yelled at Kanoko, "And **before that** you nearly died! You think I didn't feel that?! You think I don't feel any of it?! I do! I felt every punch, kick, stab, blast, burn… I could go on!"

Kanoko's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "You mean you don't know how to suppress it?" Kanoko shrugged, "I didn't realize. I apologize. I can certainly teach you how to block it-"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Shikamaru roared at her.

The former Hokage was rendered speechless. She had seen Shikamaru this passionate on only a handful of occasions and not one could she recall him aiming it all at her.

Shikamaru let out a shaky breath. He rubbed his face with his palm and counted backwards to calm himself down. Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru spoke again. This time calmer, but still a little shaky, "I don't want to suppress it. If I suppress it, the not knowing if you are ok or if you're dying in a ditch somewhere…"

"I… don't know what you want from me, Shikamaru." Kanoko admitted honestly.

Shikamaru shook his head, giving her a tired look, "I know. And me asking you isn't going to change anything."

Kanoko looked into her brother's eyes, hoping to find the answer. When she didn't find one, she looked out the window.

Shikamaru stared at the bed Kanoko once occupied.

Nothing but the faint noises of the hospital's computers was heard as the two siblings stared at anything other than each other.

"What would it take… for you to stop throwing yourself around like your life is expendable?" Shikamaru asked quietly.

Kanoko exhaled deeply through her nose, closing her eyes as she did, "Shikamaru…" Kanoko stopped to turn to her brother, looking at his face while he looked away, "It is my duty and my responsibility to defend this village, its people, and those I care about to the fullest of my ability."

Shikamaru bit the inside of his cheek, still refusing to look up at his sister.

Kanoko started to move until she was standing at his side – each sibling facing the opposite direction. Looking towards the door, Kanoko spoke quietly, "I would never forgive myself if I gave any less, and something horrible happened because of it."

The room fell silent again as Kanoko opened the door.

Taking another breath, Kanoko whispered, "Especially if that cost ended up being you."

And with that, Kanoko walked out, closing the door gently behind her.

Shikamaru stood there, staring blankly at the bed before him. Biting down on his bottom lip, his mind started to run at a thousand miles per hour. The image of his sister being slammed continuously into the side of the cliff, the moment when Naruto's demonic claws sunk into her skin, her tired, battered body struggling to pull herself up as they traveled back to Konoha – all of it replayed over and over in his head.

He knew she wouldn't stop. He knew she wouldn't listen to him. And he knew that this wasn't going to be the last time he stood in the middle of a hospital room, worrying about his sister.

Perhaps that was what had him the most worried. That one of these times, it **would** be the last time he stood in the middle of the hospital, wondering if she was going to make it or not.

One of these times, it was going to be "not".

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Kanoko approached Sasuke, who was leaning his back against the wall with his arms crossed. When he saw her approach, he pushed off the wall. Looking over her shoulder, he raised an eyebrow at her.

Kanoko shook her head and started walking in the direction of Sakura's room.

"What did you need to speak with me about?" Kanoko asked, her eyes focused ahead.

Sasuke paused, before speaking low but clear, "I want you to train me."

Kanoko stopped suddenly.

Still staring at the path ahead, Kanoko paused before speaking, "I've changed my mind. Let's go to the roof." And with that, Kanoko turned towards the stairwell.

After making their way up the stairs and to the roof in silence, Kanoko walked over to the edge and placed a hand on the railing. She stared dully at the view below. The hospital was on the edge of the village and a good distance away from any homes. Taking a moment to take in the sight, her eyes shifted to Sasuke, looking sharp, as she spoke.

"Tell me, what is your purpose?"

"To get stronger." Sasuke answered quickly, a slight annoyance in his voice as if the answer was obvious.

Kanoko orange eyes focused on Sasuke's onyx colored ones, "You misunderstand me. What is your purpose in life? What do you hope to achieve in this short life given to each of us? What keeps you moving, breathing, living?"

Sasuke frowned. Crossing his arms, he closed his eyes, "My purpose for living… is to avenge my clan by killing the one responsible."

Kanoko turned her head and stared at the buildings in the distance, her eyes half lidded, "Then I can not train you."

"What?" Sasuke asked, surprised. His tone quickly turned angry, "And why not?!"

Sasuke froze when Kanoko's eyes locked onto him. With an emotionless tone, Kanoko spoke, "Forthcoming shinobi must suppress their emotions, create suitable rules that they then follow and avoid extraneous conflict."

Kanoko turned back around to look out in the distance, "You have already failed the first rule of my teachings."

Sasuke's fists tightened, "But you'll train an idiot like Naruto and an emotional wreck like Sakura!"

"And that's your other problem." Kanoko spoke, ignoring Sasuke's angry tone, "You keep comparing yourself to those around you. While it is important to remain aware of your surroundings, including the skills and abilities of both your friends and your enemies, you are setting yourself up to fail by placing their limits on yourself."

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he tried to calm himself down, "What do you mean by that?"

Kanoko turned to Sasuke, "I don't care if you become the most powerful shinobi to ever walk the earth, your strengths and weaknesses are going to be different than everyone around – and you are lying to yourself if you believe you will be without weaknesses. You are not going to have perfect chakra control, you won't have the largest pool of chakra to use, you aren't going to be the best water jutsu user in all the lands, you aren't going to be the number one expert in every sort of ninja tools, and you're never going to by a gentle fist master – unless you trade in your Sharingan for a Byakugan, which I doubt you would ever do."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but agreed in his mind that he would never willingly give up his eyes.

"Do you see why you only make yourself weaker by comparing everyone else's abilities against your own? There are some ninja arts that are easier to learn than others, but in my experience, the shinobi that take the time to master their skills are the ones that survive battle after battle until none are left." Kanoko told the Uchiha.

Sasuke relaxed his fists, but focused his eyes on Kanoko, "Then explain to me, why the gap between you and I is so large."

Kanoko paused, searching her mind for the correct words. Looking out at the village, she smirked, "It's not. There is no real gap between us, when it comes down to chakra reserves, endurance, and speed. The gap you see, which makes you believe you are inferior, has to do with wisdom, experience and intelligence."

Sasuke's eyes twitched, " _She better not be calling me dumb._ "

"Essentially, I'm calling you an idiot." Kanoko said, turning her smirk at Sasuke.

The black haired boy glared at Kanoko.

Kanoko just continued to smirk, "You are your own worst enemy Sasuke." The smirk on Kanoko's face died down into a tired frown. Exhaling through her nose, Kanoko gripped the railing with both of her hands, "Do you know what an Uchiha's greatest strength is?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but responded quickly, "The Sharingan."

Kanoko shook her head, "The Sharingan is just a tool, as is the kunai you carry on you. If the Uchiha were expert kunai users, would tell others that the kunai was the Uchiha's greatest strength?"

"No." Sasuke answered.

The wind blew through, pushing hair into their faces as silence took over.

After a few moments, Sasuke spoke, "If it is not the Sharingan, then I don't know."

Kanoko turned her eyes to the sky, "There is no clan that feels a deeper love for those they care about, than the Uchiha clan. Once an Uchiha knows love, in whatever form it takes, it is almost as if all of his or her previously checked emotions are released. With this love, they awaken a profound power within themselves."

Sasuke stared at Kanoko in bewilderment. "How do you know all this?" Sasuke asked, his tone full of curiosity, rather than animosity.

Kanoko continued as if she did not hear Sasuke, "This is also the Uchiha's biggest weakness. When an Uchiha who has known love, loses that connection either by death or by betrayal, it is replaced by an even stronger emotion: Hatred. This hatred changes them."

The young Nara pointed a finger at her eyes, "This is how the Sharingan is formed. When an Uchiha withers in agony over the loss of a great love, a unique chakra is released inside their brain, reacts with the optic nerves and these changes take form in the user's eyes. Eyes that reflects their heart."

"The Sharingan taps into the power of that person's heart, rapidly increasing their strength, along with the power of their hatred." Kanoko finished with an even tone.

Sasuke stared at the sky behind Kanoko, " _For an Uchiha, hatred makes us stronger… Is this why Itachi murder our parents and our clan? So that I my hatred would grow until I was strong enough to challenge him?_ "

Kanoko sighed heavily, "You are misunderstanding me again."

Sasuke shot a nasty look at the kunoichi, "How could you possibly know what I'm thinking?"

Kanoko locked eyes with Sasuke, "Because I've seen eyes like yours before. You're thinking the stronger you hate, the stronger your Sharingan will become. But that is not what I said. Hatred will not make you stronger. Hatred will make you weaker. It will make you act irrationally and impatiently. It will cloud your judgement and will prevent you from reaching your goals."

Sasuke frowned, "But you said as the Uchiha grows their power, the stronger their hate become."

Kanoko nodded, "Exactly. It is the curse of your clan. The more power you gain, the more the hatred inside you will try to take control. Your hatred will not make you stronger, it will only weaken you."

Sasuke went silent as everything Kanoko just told him ran through his head – replaying over and over in his mind. Slowly, he walked over to the side of the roof, staring out into the village. His eyes traveled to his clan's compound – on the very edge of the village and separated from the rest.

Kanoko caught the direction of Sasuke's gaze and stared at the Uchiha compound with him, " _I had placed them in a position most suited for them. None but the Uchiha were stronger in mind and spirit. If any other clan had been given the curse of the Sharingan, they would have self-destructed long ago._ "

Kanoko shifted her eyes to Sasuke, " _By no fault of his own, he has already been placed on the path of pain, hatred, and destruction. Only he can determine his future from here._ "

"I have been told that love can overcome hatred, just as hatred can overcome love." Kanoko started, "I don't know how much of that is true. I resolved myself of deep emotions some time ago, but the love I feel for this village and those within it remains strong, and that feeling makes me work harder, longer, wiser in order to become stronger."

Sasuke remained silent.

Minutes passed. Birds chirping lightly in the distance, the sound of the wind blowing through the fence, the humming of the motor on the roof powering the hospital – the two continued to stand there barely listening to these noises, their minds focused elsewhere.

After what felt like an hour, Sasuke spoke, "Then I propose a pact."

Kanoko shifted her eyes to the side, "…Go on."

Sasuke continued, "Train me. Train me how to become strong with and without my Sharingan. Help me become strong enough to avenge my clan by removing Uchiha Itachi from this world." Sasuke turned his face to lock eyes with Kanoko, "And in return, I will pledge my abilities, my loyalty, and my life to the Konoha you love so much."

Kanoko matched Sasuke's serious look with one of her own. She did not utter a word. Instead, she fought herself internally, " _Uchiha Itachi already attempted to kidnap and harm Naruto. The chances that our paths will cross again are high. I do not know if this will lead to a battle to the death, but it may. But I would be a fool to believe an Uchiha's hatred would stop there. Madara is the prime example of how an Uchiha's hatred never stops growing._ "

Kanoko closed her eyes, " _Hashirama offered Madara a peaceful way out. One that he accepted – for a time. In the end, Hashirama was forced to put Madara down. Is there really any way to stop an Uchiha's hatred from growing once that seed has been sowed?_ "

Orange eyes opened slowly and met onyx colored ones, "I…" Kanoko stopped talking, " _He's determined and stubborn. He's reaching out to me now, but he'll reach out to another if I turn him away. The chance that he uses what I teach him against Konoha is higher than I'm comfortable with. Am I willing to carry that burden on my back?_ " Kanoko stared at the onyx eyes, " _Every other option leads to a higher probability of mutually assured destruction. The only option that guarantees the safety of Konoha is to murder this child in front of me._ "

Kanoko shifted her eyes to the village, " _But, to kill a child, a child of Konoha on the possibility alone – no matter how high – would go against everything my brother stood for. It would go against every this village stands for._ "

The former kage looked back at Sasuke, " _If I do this, his actions, his life, it all becomes my responsibility._ "

Finally, Kanoko spoke, "I will agree to these terms, but only with one added condition."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, his heart beating slightly faster in excitement.

Kanoko stared him straight in the eyes, "We work together in rebuilding the Uchiha clan's place in Konoha. This means cleaning the streets, fixing the buildings, renting out houses, bringing in businesses – everything that it takes to reintroduce the Uchiha clan in a positive light." Kanoko clasped a hand on Sasuke's shoulder while smirking, "Good luck finding a woman that is willing to put up with you and your small army of children."

Kanoko started to walk away, but chuckled before voicing her thoughts out loud, "I don't know who I'm going to feel more pity for: your wife or Shikamaru's?"

Sasuke glared at Kanoko's back, his eye twitching dangerously.

Kanoko just continued walking, chuckling quietly. Just as she started to open the door, Sasuke called out.

"Kanoko!"

Kanoko turned to look back at Sasuke with an eyebrow raised, "Yes?"

Sasuke nodded, "I accept your terms."

"Good." Kanoko turned back to the door and smirked before yelling back at him, "Don't listen to anything Naruto and Sakura tells you! They're liars and wimps!"

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Shikamaru stared at the ceiling in annoyance, " _How long does it take to get from Sakura's room and back?_ " The young Nara was lying on his back, one leg propped up with his other leg resting on his knee, with his hands behind his head. He was waiting patiently in the hospital bed for his sister to return.

" _What did Sasuke want with her anyways?_ " Shikamaru grumbled low, "Troublesome woman…"

The sound of the door creaking slightly caught Shikamaru's attention, " _Kanoko?_ " He thought, turning his head to the side to get a better look.

" _It's that guy…_ " Shikamaru thought as the Nara elder he met before his mission walked in. Standing tall, the man shifted his eyes around the room before they settled on Shikamaru.

"It seems the hospital staff did not hear me correctly. I was looking for Nara Kanoko's room." The man spoke, his face expressionless.

"Kanoko went to check on her teammate." Shikamaru answered plainly, not quite sure he wanted to get into a conversation with this man again.

The elder either didn't hear Shikamaru or chose to ignore him. Shikamaru watched the man carefully as he moved across the room and picked up his sister's chart. He watched as the older man's eyes scanned the words before speaking low, "No lasting damage. Good."

And with that, the elder started his way back towards the door.

"You said something before my mission that makes me wonder…" Shikamaru spoke suddenly.

The elder turned around, an eyebrow raised.

Shikamaru continued, "You said, 'I simply wish to help my granddaughter from the darkness this village holds and to prevent my grandson from offering his life in exchange for hers.'" Shikamaru paused to look the man in the eye, his own eyes sharp, "As it turns out, that exact scenario occurred."

The man's bored look sharpened slightly, barely noticeable, but enough for Shikamaru to catch, "Is it not strange to assume such a situation would occur before hand? This is your sister we are speaking of."

Shikamaru shrugged, "Just found it strange. That's all."

The man chuckled low, "I don't know whether to be impressed by your deductive reasoning, even if your conclusion is wrong, or to be disappointed by your quick surrender. You are indeed just like your father."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "For someone who is trying to pass themselves off as my grandfather, you sure are doing a poor job at hiding your intentions." Shikamaru wrinkled his nose, "And I've had enough being compared to my parents to last for a lifetime."

The dark haired man smirked slightly, "Yes. Asami could never quite let things go, especially when it revolved around your parents."

Shikamaru sat up at that, his eyes sharp again, " _This old geezer either has great connection or my suspicions are correct._ "

The elder opened the door, "Yamanaka Asami may be dead, but if she could see what is about to transpire, she would know she got what she wanted in the end."

"What are you saying? What is about to occur?" Shikamaru asked quickly, his mind working on overdrive, "Does it have to do with Kanoko, and her status as an active shinobi?"

"Your sister is worth far too much to this village to simply cast away as if she were a rookie genin from a civilian family." Dark eyes met Shikamaru's. In a deep voice, the man asked, "Tell me, Shikamaru, what difference does it make to you?"

"She's my sister." Shikamaru answered, his tone dull as if to say the question was a stupid one.

The tall man simply raised an eyebrow, "It is not as if you have any power over the situation."

The young Nara frowned.

"If your sister continues on this route, she will only be sent on higher ranking and more dangerous missions. They will use her for her abilities and she will allow it to happen – all in the name of the village's continued prosperity." The man paused for a moment before continuing, "And one day, she won't come home."

Shikamaru was silent, " _It's not like I could tell her to stop. I already tried…_ "

The elder Nara spoke again, "I don't know why I continue to waste my breath. Any fool can see you have already conceded."

Shikamaru's eyes snapped up. With a frown, he spoke with a drawl, "You say that like I have _any power over the situation_."

The man scoffed, "That, you definitely get that from your mother." Looking Shikamaru straight in the eyes he spoke, "You and your sister are twins. You both are essentially the same, which means your potential is the same. And of the two, you are the boy. Tell me, Shikamaru, why do you choose to be inferior when you could be equals?"

Shikamaru went silent again, not knowing how to answer.

The sound of the door creaking open was followed by one last comment by the mysterious man.

"My name is Nara Rokumaru, by the way, in case you wish to check the validity of my claims."

And with that, Shikamaru was once again alone in the hospital room. He stared at the door with a blank expression as his mind trying to sort out everything that just occurred. A smaller part of his mind, the part he was trying desperately to bury as deep as possible, repeated three words over and over again.

"… _Could be equals…_ "

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Kanoko walked through the halls of the hospital until she reached the room she was looking for.

"OWW! SAKURA-CHAN!"

Kanoko sighed, " _Do they ever change?_ " Smiling slightly in amusement, Kanoko pushed the door open and entered the room.

"Kanoko!" Sakura exclaimed, a large smile taking over her features, "I wondering how you were doing! I wanted to go see you when were checked in, but the medics won't let me leave my room…"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Well, most people that blow themselves up, multiple times, don't typically get up **at all**. So I can understand the medics' needed to keep you in one spot for a while."

Sakura blushed, looking embarrassed, "Well… I just thought… it seemed like my only option at the time…"

Kanoko nodded, leaning back against the wall, "I know. And we are going to fix that moving forward."

Sakura's face lit up and opened her mouth to thank Kanoko before the Nara held her hand up, "Don't thank me yet. As of this moment, I am revoking your use of explosives – in all of its many forms."

"What?!" Sakura called out, "That's not fair."

Kanoko shrugged, "Life's not fair."

Sakura just crossed her arms roughly and pouted at Kanoko before mumbling too low for Kanoko to pick up.

"Haha! She told you!" Naruto shouted, laughing hard as he pointed at Sakura.

Sakura's face turned red in anger. Picking up her glass of water, she chucked it at Naruto's head while yelling, "NAAAARUTOOOOO!"

"ACK!" Naruto cried out, diving out of the way as Sakura started to throw anything within her grasp at the blonde.

Kanoko shook her head at her teammates, " _Those two look like they are ok and in good spirits. That's good._ " Kanoko's expression softened to smile at the two of them.

Kanoko quietly opened the door and slid out of the room. Kanoko was a few feet down the hallway when she heard her name.

"Kanoko!" Naruto called after her while running up to her side.

Kanoko shifted her eyes downward, an eyebrow raised at her blonde teammate, "Yes Naruto?"

Naruto started chuckling, a wide grin spreading on his face and he placed his hands behind his head, "I know the perfect remedy for a 100%, speedy recovery!"

"And that is?" Kanoko asked, decided to humor him. It's not like she had anything else to do.

Naruto's grin grew before shouting, "Ichiraku ramen!"

Kanoko sighed, wondering why she didn't see that coming, "Naruto. I think you have forgotten. I'm not allowed to leave the hospital until the Hokage contacts me personally."

Naruto just slapped an arm over his teammate's shoulder and grinned evilly, "What the old hag doesn't know won't hurt her."

The brown haired girl just rubbed her face with her palm tiredly, " _I should have stay with Shikamaru…_ "

"Come on!" Naruto said, pulling Kanoko towards the stairwell, "I know every exit and entrance in this place! They'll never even know what happened!"

Kanoko just pointed towards the end of the hall where nothing but empty space lay, "And my ANBU guard? What do you plan to do with him?"

Naruto looked back at the empty hall. A mischievous grin took over Naruto's face as he turned back to Kanoko.

"No." Kanoko quickly shot him down.

Naruto stuck out his bottom lip, letting it quiver slightly.

Kanoko crossed her arms, "No."

"Come OOOOON!" Naruto whined, pulling Kanoko towards the stairwell doors.

"No Naruto!" Kanoko told him firmly, digging her heels into the ground.

Naruto let go suddenly, making Kanoko stumble back slightly. Giving her an irritated look, Naruto spoke, "You gave me no choice. Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"What?! Narutoooo!" Kanoko shouted at her friend as clones of him appeared around her and lifted her into the air.

"To Ichiraku's we go!" Shouted the real Naruto. "YEAH!" The others chorused.

Kanoko started banging her fists on the tops of the many Narutos' heads, like the game whack-a-mole, as she growled at Naruto, "Put. Me. DOWN!"

The ANBU flickered behind Naruto and Kanoko, staring at the two of them as they made their way out of the hospital. He sighed through his mask before thinking, " _They're Taichou's students. That's for sure._ "

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Tsunade sat quietly at her desk, staring down out at the paper on her desk. After the, less than subtle, hint from Kanoko, she delegated her authority out to Torune, Shizune, and, just as payback for bringing a monster into the world, Shikaku. They were now handling a good portion of her paperwork between the three of them and only the most critical documents made it to her desk.

Like the one in front of her.

Rubbing her temple, she look up at the sound of someone entering her office, "Yamato. Why are you here and not at the hospital?" Her tone getting thinner as she spoke.

Yamato tensed, rethinking his plan.

"Well?" Tsunade barked, "Out with it!"

"Naruto may or may not have kidnapped Nara Kanoko and taken her to Ichiraku's!" Yamato spoke fast, cowering at the intense chakra and rage pouring out from his Hokage.

*CRACK*

A thick, jagged line split Tsunade's desk in half as she stood up and roared.

"NAAAAAAAARUUUUUUTOOOOOOOO!"

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Kanoko glared at her teammate.

Naruto laughed at his friend's misery, "Come on! You love this! Just admit it!"

Off to the side, Sakura giggled at Kanoko's appearance. Somehow, Naruto had managed to inform all their friends that there was going to be a party to celebrate the success of mission: Bring Kanoko Home. So here Kanoko was, sitting in everyone's favorite barbeque restaurant, against her will, with a party hat on her head, and confetti hanging off of her clothes.

"It's just a shame we couldn't do this at Ichiraku's…" Naruto whined, leaning back.

Sakura gave Naruto an annoyed look, "Ichiraku's would have been way too small! Why can't you be realistic Naruto?!"

"Because he's Naruto and that's what we love about him!" Choji shouted, leaning over the table to grab a piece of meat off of his teammate's plate.

"Stop it Choji! Keep your chopsticks in your own space!" Ino yelled at the bandaged boy.

Choji grinned, "Shikamaru doesn't mind, do you buddy?"

Shikamaru just waved his hand lazily, "Eh, I don't care."

Ino crossed her arms and huffed. Turning to Sakura she whined, "You're so lucky, Sakura, that you have at least Kanoko on your team!"

Sakura giggled at her friend as she got into a chopstick battle with her teammate.

"How are your injuries?" Neji asked from down the table.

Kanoko turned to him, "Nothing of concern. You?"

Neji nodded, "The same."

Tenten looked between the two, "Wow. You guys are really boring to listen to."

Neji grunted, giving his teammate a look, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Tenten shrugged, "I don't know. I figured this would be your moment to pull a Lee and declare your undying love for Kanoko. After all, you nearly died so the others could continue on and bring Kanoko back home." Tenten's evil grin growing with each word.

Neji went beat red as choked on the tea he was trying to drink.

"How romantic!" Ino shouted, looking between the two.

Hinata gave her cousin a soft look before turning to Tenten with a frown, "Tenten-chan, please don't tease Neji!" More than anyone, Hinata knew what it was like to be embarrassed in front of your crush.

Shikamaru scooted closer to his sister's seat, glaring directly at Neji with everything he had.

Kanoko, on the other hand, looked suddenly pale, " _I'm going to be sick…_ "

"TENTEN!" Neji shouted, after he finally stopped choking.

Tenten just laughed before saying, "I'm joking, I'm joking! Gosh!" Although, the grin on her face said otherwise.

"Speaking of Lee, where is that crazy guy?" Kiba asked, while chewing on a piece of meat.

"He said if we were going to have a party about Kanoko's rescue, there were three others that needed to be here." Tenten answered, not quite sure what Lee meant.

"Sakura-chan! How good it is to see you up and moving around! You are radiant as always!" Lee's loud voice boomed as he raced over to see Sakura.

"Lee!" Naruto greeted him, "Where's the others?" He added with a grin.

"What? Miss us already? Man, you guys are going to have a rough time when we leave then - not that I can blame you." Kankuro spoke with a smirk on his face. Standing next to him were his two siblings.

"Well, well. The whole gang's here." Temari said with a smirk of her own. Nodding to Choji, she asked, "Hey kid, looks like you are doing better."

Choji nodded with a grin, "Yeah! That pill you gave me really saved me!"

Temari just shrugged, "Some guy named Shikaku gave it to me. Thank him."

"Thank you anyways." Shikamaru told Temari, looking up at her.

"Anytime." Temari smirked, making her way to an empty seat between Sasuke and Tenten.

Kankuro moved over to the space next to Kiba.

Dark chakra filled the air, "How come I wasn't invited?" A smooth, even voice asked.

Naruto jumped, "Ahh! Shino! What the hell?! You can't just sneak up on people like that!"

Shino turned his dark gaze upon Naruto, "But it is ok to forget important friends?"

Naruto groaned, "Come on! I just checked with Torune and he said you were still out on a mission! You know I would have invited you!"

Kiba laughed at Naruto's struggle, "Give him some slack Shino! You know Naruto would never leave out a friend!"

Shino looked over to Shikamaru and Choji, who nodded in support of Naruto. After a few moments, Shino made up his mind, "I will forgive you… this time."

Kiba just laughed, "Find a seat and eat up! It's all on Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru bolted right up, "What?!"

Kiba grinned wickedly, "Hey, the leader always treats the team and the mission was to save your sister anyways!"

A chorus of laughter mixed with "yeahs" had Shikamaru groaning as he dropped his head on the table, "You're all such a drag…"

Kanoko patted her brother's back lightly, "I'll help you out."

Shikamaru turned his face to look up at his sister who was smiling softly down at him. He stared at her face causing her to raise an eyebrow, "What? Did Naruto flick something on my face?"

"Hey! Why is your first instinct to blame me?!" Naruto shouted while holding a piece of meat in the air.

Sakura crossed her arms, "When **isn't** it your fault?"

"Lots of times…" Naruto mumbled out.

"Ha!" Kiba shouted, "Name one!"

Naruto glared at Kiba, "How about that time you puked in Sakura's seat, huh?!"

The room went silent as chakra sparked in the air, "Naruto… are you telling me… that you **knew** I was going to sit in puke… ruining my favorite dress and embarrassing the shit out of me… AND YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING?!"

Naruto went pale, "AHHH! SAKURA-CHAN!"

"CHAAAA!"

Naruto held his head from the pain of Sakura's punch, "Ow…."

Kiba just laughed harder, pointing at Naruto as his eyes started to tear up.

"Kiba…"

Kiba stopped laughing immediately, freezing in his seat. Slowly, his head shifted around to the raging pinkette behind him, cracking her knuckles with a wicked grin on her face, "If I'm willing to do that to my teammate… just think about what I'm going to do to you…"

"AHHHHHHH!" Kiba screamed, his voice hitting a high octave as he did so.

Temari barked out a laugh, "Man! I love it here! I thought you Leaf kunoichi were nothing, but pretty faces! Boy was I wrong!"

Tenten shrugged, "Eh, the men here are just pansies."

Temari grinned back, "All the more reason for you guys to come back to the Sand with us."

"Temari… stop trying to poach." Gaara spoke in an even tone.

Temari smirked at her brother, but held up her hands in jest, "I'm just providing options, is all."

Kanoko shook her head. Turning her head from the blood bath in the corner, Kanoko turned to Gaara and bowed her head slightly, "Thank you for responding to the Hokage's request and backing up my comrades. I fear what may have transpired if you and your siblings were not there."

Gaara bowed his head back, "I was simply returning a debt."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

The redhead nodded, "I have been able to sleep because of you."

Shikamaru's head snapped back to his sister and the Sand nin sitting across from her, " _Don't tell me…_ "

Ino, having seen her teammate snap his head to his sister, placed a finger on her chin. Staring in between the two seemingly emotionless people she spoke, "Gosh Kanoko. I wish I had as many admirers as you."

Kanoko just groaned as she slapped her face into her palm, " _Ugg… How many years am I going to have to put up with this…?_ "

Kankuro choked on his food while Temari laughed loudly, "My little brother? With a crush on lazy bones' sister?" Temari stared to laugh harder.

Gaara gave his sister a bland look, which she ignored.

Tenten grinned at Shikamaru, "You sure have your work cut out for you!"

Shikamaru grumbled, "Troublesome…"

Ino, never one to pass up a good opportunity, grinned wickedly at Kanoko, "So Kanoko, be honest with us. Who would you chose? The noble, but high maintenance Hyuuga Neji? Or the cool, but silent Gaara of the Sand?" Ino paused to smirk, "Or maybe another shinobi all together?" Her eyebrows wiggling around as she spoke.

Kanoko gave Ino an annoyed look, "None of the above. Ever."

Shikamaru smirked as Ino, crossing his arms.

Ino glared at her teammate, "Come one Kanoko! There has to be _**someone**_ you care about!"

Kanoko nodded, "There are plenty."

Shikamaru's head snapped back to his sister, his eyes wide, " _P-p-plenty?!_ "

Kanoko continued, standing up as she did, "I care about everyone here. You risked your lives, leaving your homes, and the people closest to you, in order to rescue me from a fate what would have killed me in more ways than one. You were brave in the face of enemies that even a jounin would have had trouble with. You fought against enemy nin from two separate villages, all while knowing that there would be no back up on the way. And in the face of death, you pushed yourselves harder – unwilling to let a friend down."

Kanoko looked from Gaara to Temari and then to Kankuro, "And to our allies from the Village Hidden in the Sand, for your wiliness, bravery, and sharp skills…"

Kanoko bowed to the people around the table, "Thank you. Thank you to each and every one of you. Thank you for not only coming for me, a comrade, but also giving each other strength and fighting for something greater than yourselves."

Standing up straight, Kanoko smiled, "You are all true shinobi… and ones that I am proud to call my friends."

"BELIEVE IT!" Naruto shouted, raising up his glass for a toast.

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Tsunade walked out from the restaurant where the rookie nine, Gai's team, and the Sand siblings sat and ate. Crossing her arms over her chest, she smiled up at the stone faces of the past Hokage.

" _If only you could see them… You would be so proud Ojii-san. Both of you would be._ "

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Shikaku slowly walked into the room his daughter was assigned to. He knew the room would be empty, since he was still walking around the Hokage's tower when he heard her yell out Naruto's name then run down to Ichiraku's with a promise of pain.

He slowly approached the bed, his eyes traveling up it until he caught was he was looking for: His daughter's medical chart.

Staring at it for a moment, he tentatively picked it up.

" _Severe chakra exhaustion, cracked ribs, punctured abdomen, internal bleeding_ , _concussion, head gash…_ " Shikaku read, the writing getting harder to read as his hands shook violently. Dropping the chart on the bed, he let out a shaky breath he was holding in – leaning against the bed as he did so.

He recalled a similar chart he read earlier, " _Water in lungs, bruises around the neck, chakra exhaustion, several other minor wounds._ "

Shikaku's fingers twisted in the fabric beneath them, his knuckles turning white as his breath turned ragged.

His son, his lazy, sarcastic, smartass of a son… Banging against the shadow barrier, preventing him from getting air and watching as the oxygen escaped from his lungs.

His daughter, little girl, the one that likes to remind him of how important he is to the village and to his family, and the one that reserves a special smile, just for him… Her face smashing over and over again into the side of the cliff as blood poured down her face.

His son, the one that looks and acts just like him, back in the day. Who loves to play shogi and is always curious about something or other… Thick, black tendrils wrapped tight around his throat – cutting off any air and trying desperately to snap his neck in half.

His daughter, the one that is a mystery to even him most days and that is cold to nearly everyone she meets, but will bring him lunch, will help him feed the deer, will chat about her day and how she can't wait until her teammates get through puberty, and will let him know, in so many little ways, how proud and grateful she is, to be given him as her father… The blood on her face and stomach dripping from her clothes as she struggled to stand – yelling at him and begging him to stop, to remember who he is, to fight back.

A small gasp followed by choking noises erupted from Shikaku throat as he tried to inhale. He couldn't breathe. His whole body shook violently as he felt the acid travel up from his stomach.

Falling to his knees, he slammed his head against the side of the bed, small whimpering noises coming out of him as water fell freely down his face.

"Shikamaru… Kanoko… I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! I… I'm… I'm…" No more words followed as the sound of broken man echoed off the cold white walls of the hospital room.

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 **Author's Note:**

 **So this chapter officially wraps up the Cloud Plot Arc (even though you will be seeing/reading the effects for some time) and we will now be moving on to setting the stage for Shippuden. There will be a lot of jumping around in these next one to two chapters, but I will try to make it as smooth as possible!**

 **Honestly, I'm just really excited to get to Shippuden. I've wanted to write Shippuden since after chapter 10, but I knew I couldn't just jump into it.**

 **Thank you everyone for making it this far with me! I know I've stumbled and face planted quite a few times, but your support, your kind words, your suggestions, and your thoughts are making this story grow! I honestly couldn't have done this without you guys!**

 **Also, thank you again to FreelanceBum! He has spent a lot of time editing and making suggestions to my wording, which I think has really made a difference in the story!**

 **Second to last, AnimeLover229 asked to add a scene with Gaara, so you have her to thank for that little part. :D**

 **And finally, I am always open for suggestions and am pretty good about letting the requester know whether I can fit it in or not. It really depends on the story and the already established characters. But if you write a suggestion as an ANON, then I can't reply, so please review or PM me while signed in!**

 **THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST REVIEWERS/READERS/FOLLOWERS/FAVORITORS (is that a word?) THAT AN AUTHOR COULD ASK FOR!**


	36. Chapter 34

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Orange eyes narrowed at the reflection in the mirror.

Kanoko was standing in front of the large bathroom mirror in only pants and a few bandages around her chest. Eyebrows pointed down, and a frown prominent on her face, she glared at the bandaged area.

" _I command you to stop growing._ "

The reincarnated Hokage grunted un-lady-like while pulling at the bandages, trying to tighten them against her chest, "I have a _**whole newfound**_ respect for Toka…" Kanoko grumbled out, thinking of her long dead clan member, "How the hell do you fight, let alone move, with these atrocities?!"

Banging at the door turned Kanoko's attention from her frustrating female attributes, "What?!"

"Stop being such a _**girl**_ and hurry up!" Shikamaru drawled through the door, "I need to use the bathroom!"

Kanoko gritted her teeth as she growled, "We have three bathrooms in this house! Use one of them!"

"Ugg… That's all the way down that hall…" He brother whined back.

"Oh for the love of…!" Kanoko fumbled with the bandages around her top half before cursing and giving up. Grabbing a baggy shirt, Kanoko pulled it over her head and turned back to the door.

Kanoko then swung the door open with an angry look on her face. Standing there with a dull look on his face was her brother – his fist raised as he was about to bang on the door again. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kanoko beat him to it with a sneer, " **You're** such a girl. Go piss in a bush next time, like a man."

And with that Kanoko pushed past her brother, her shoulder hitting his and making him run into the door frame as he tried to move into the bathroom.

Shikamaru hissed while rubbing his shoulder. Looking back at his sister, he thought, " _What the hell crawled up her ass and died?_ "

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With a frown and scowl permanently fixed on her face, Kanoko walked down the streets of Konoha. Stomping down Konoha's streets was the more accurate statement. Everything had been getting on Kanoko's last nerve.

First, Tsunade, her _**lovely**_ grandniece, finally contact Kanoko – after Kanoko spent **days** wandering around the hospital's halls. Tsunade then proceeded to tell her that Kanoko was hereby limited to D-ranked missions until she proved to the village that she could go on a simple mission without blowing herself up – which Kanoko thought was a grossly inaccurate statement. She had only **tried** to blow herself up once and she didn't even get hit by the blast! If they were going to punish her, they should at least afford her the respect by telling her _**what she did wrong**_ – even though she already had a pretty good idea.

Kanoko wasn't unaware that she has been in the center of every major incident thus far and was acting very much unlike her peers in regards to her personality, knowledge and skills. If she was still Hokage, she would be suspicious too.

That, however, didn't make her mood any better after Tsunade laughed so hard she was in tears while handing Kanoko her first assignment.

It should be illegal for a couple to spawn five daughters, then hire shinobi to entertain them.

On the bright side, she did nearly giving her brother a heart attack when she used her jutsu to teleport back to their room after the mission, looking like some kind of clown/bride hybrid. It brought back a very traumatic memory of a birthday party surprise involving a clown gone bad and caused him to run into the door with a loud smack as he attempted to escape Kanoko's deformed look.

Her mood continued to worsen with each D-ranked mission while her brother and teammates were selected to go on C-ranked missions on their own.

And then, while stuck on a particularly shitty (sewer duty) D-ranked mission, there was the breakout at the Leaf's maximum security prison. The fact that there was a breakout alone didn't upset Kanoko, so much as it worried her at the time. But after learning that the security was so lax two complete _**buffoons**_ could pull back their bars and walk out whenever they were hungry…

People walking in the streets threw themselves out of the way as Kanoko approached – her deathly aura whipping around her.

" _Thank_ _ **kami**_ _we didn't have a_ _ **real**_ _threat sitting in that shit hole._ " Kanoko thought, turning a hard right down an alley.

If her situation among the village wasn't irritating enough, her _friends_ were doing everything in their power to send her to the looney bin.

Ino wouldn't leave her alone. Apparently Kanoko had become her new "project" after the whole "I would rather choke on my own kunai than fall in love" statement she made at the party.

Kanoko didn't know how much longer she would be able to avoid Ino and her newly acquired obsession to "girlify" her – Ino's words, not hers. Ino had recruited Sakura and Tenten – the traitors – and even poor, timid Hinata got dragged into this needless war.

And the girls weren't the only ones giving Kanoko problems.

Having been serious in her promise to Sasuke, Kanoko started working with him in the early mornings before mission assignments. In the beginning, it was quite refreshing for Kanoko to be working with someone that was as serious as her when it came to improving one's form, strength, technique, and chakra reserves. After testing all his abilities and limits, she started on endurance exercises. He wasn't happy at first, reminding her of Naruto and his need to learn more powerful jutsus as quick as possible, but she told Sasuke that due to his fighting style and Sharingan, he would need a much larger chakra reserve if he wanted to keep up with someone like Naruto. Especially since his chakra control wasn't all that amazing, but she would hold off on telling that last part for a bit.

Sasuke quickly listened to her, hating to lose to Naruto at anything, even if he grumbled quietly while doing so.

And just when Kanoko felt some of her stress leave her body, the Uchiha brat went and told Naruto about his morning trainings with Kanoko.

" _Fucking infants._ " Kanoko thought, as she walked swiftly up the steps leading out of the merchant district.

Kanoko still couldn't hear all that well out of her left ear from Naruto's over the top, bipolar rant – which went on for **hours**.

Now she was stuck training the **both** of them in the morning, every morning. If that wasn't enough, Kanoko learned the hard way that those two were just **not** meant to get along. She was ultimately forced to train the two of them in separate locations, at the same time because they were both **infants that didn't know how to share**. She was a Nara! Her chakra wasn't sufficient enough to constantly spam the shadow clone jutsu! By 10am every day, she felt like pulling a Shikamaru and just lying in the middle road – without a care who or what runs over her.

Speaking of Shikamaru, the only times she saw him was in the morning when she stopped back at the house to change, after training two demon-children, and then at dinner – which no member of the Nara house missed willingly.

At first, she thought the absence of her brother was a good thing. It meant that he was either with his team training or out on a mission.

But then she started to miss the brat. It used to be, whenever neither of them were on missions, he would work his way through the village with his teammates, or at least Chouji, and cross paths with her several times a day. Now, **she** was the one that had to go out of her way to find him.

Only to find him training with his team or Asuma, which she wasn't sure how she felt about yet. A large part of her was proud. He was finally taking the initiative to get stronger – something thing she wholeheartedly supported.

A smaller part of her didn't want to see him get stronger. A tiny part of her, that she was desperately trying to ignore, wanted her brother to take the simpler, safer path of a shinobi. That he would become an academy instructor, an office worker in the logistics, planning or operation departments, or even become the head of one of those departments one day.

She didn't know how she would feel if he ever became a jounin, and Kanoko would henge into her old form and give her grandniece the third degree if Tsunade ever made Shikamaru an ANBU operative.

.

To recap how Kanoko's last few weeks had gone: She had completed a total of forty – no shit, **forty** – D-ranked missions; was being tailed by a growing group of women with ill intentions; had her arms pulled in opposite directions by Sasuke and Naruto, as if they were two adolescent girls fighting for the only baby doll; and finally, turned into a worrywart of a sister over her brother and the fact that he growing up.

Oh, and there was the horrible pain in her abdomen that kept popping up - which she didn't have time to get checked out, but was trying her insane.

Needless to say, her nerves were fried.

And she had no one to talk to.

Her _**sensei**_ was currently on her growing hit list – for actions she will not speak of, **ever** – and Kakashi knew this, which meant he was never around, and outside her father, Kakashi was the only individual she trusted enough to voice her concerns.

And then there was her father…

Kanoko stopped in her aggressive jaunt through the streets of Konoha and looked up at the impressive building before her: The Hokage's Tower. Somewhere inside this building was her father, who had decided to make every effort possible to avoid her.

Avoid _**her**_.

Shikaku clearly had **no idea** who he was dealing with. No one blows off Senju Tobirama and gets away with it. No one.

(Except for Kakashi, but that was due to the fact the she would have to become a missing-nin after murdering the son of a bitch if she saw him anytime in the near future)

Kanoko blew through the doors with purpose – pushing passed any shinobi that got in her way.

At first, Kanoko gave Shikaku his space. She knew that the mental and emotional wounds of a Yamanaka would take some time to heal, and Kanoko knew that her father wouldn't come to her with his struggles. She was the child in their relationship. He would need to lean on his wife and friends in order to get passed this. Kanoko understood and respected it.

And then became obvious he was doing neither. Inoichi and Chouza had been over several times to speak with Shikaku and he kept switching the topic on them – completely shutting them out. Kanoko didn't think too much of it at the time. Who was she to tell him how to grieve or process what he went through? She certainly had her own demons and secrets she wasn't sharing.

However, Kanoko became concerned when it was clear that Shikaku was no longer sleeping in the same room as Yoshino. Either Yoshino kicked him out or he didn't want to deal with her – Kanoko wasn't sure. What she did know, however, was that all their arguments were over Shikaku pushing Yoshino away and not opening up.

But again, Shikaku is a grown man. Kanoko wasn't going to treat him like one of her kids, nor would he likely appreciate it from his daughter. A father never wants to seem weak in front of his children, especially his daughter.

The last of Kanoko's patience snapped in half when it finally became obvious to her that she was the **only** sane adult left in the household.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _The Nara family was sitting at the dinner table, eating slowly in silence. It had been like this since the Cloud/Sound mission. Kanoko was sitting next to her father, who hadn't looked at either her or her brother at all. Across from her was Shikamaru and next to him was their mother._

 _Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru had decided to break the silence. Struggling to get the correct words out, Shikamaru asked, "So… Yamanaka Asami…"_

 _Yoshino tensed slightly, but gave her son her full attention, "Yeah Shikamaru? What do… what do you want to know about her?"_

 _Shikamaru opened his mouth and then closed it. Looking over at Kanoko, he mentally asked her how he should proceed. She shrugged, not interested in helping this discussion along. She knew it wasn't going to end well._

 _Frowning at his sister, Shikamaru looked down at his plate, "Why was she so angry… I mean… what happened between the two of you?"_

 _Yoshino sighed heavily and placed her hands on the table. She chewed the inside of her lip before closing her eyes to give herself strength. Turning back to her son, Yoshino spoke, "Back when we were young-"_

" _It's none of your business." Shikaku said suddenly._

 _Kanoko raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond._

 _Her brother wasn't as quiet. Frowning at his father, Shikamaru disagreed, "She tried to kill us. I think we're passed that point."_

 _Shikaku was firm, still not looking at either of them, "And now she's dead. Discussion over."_

 _Shikamaru didn't give up, "We don't know that. Kanoko said that Asami left her mind, not that she's dead. When she comes back, I'd like to know why Kanoko and I are in her cross hairs. It could be useful in forming a strategy to defeat her."_

 _Kanoko nodded mentally to herself, praising her brother for approaching the discussing with logic rather whining or demanding he be told._

" _Yamanaka Asami's body was recovered not long after our return." Shikaku responded plainly, keeping his tone even._

 _This caught Shikamaru's attention, "She's dead? How? Do we know who did it?"_

 _Shikaku's tone tightened, "Leave it Shikamaru."_

 _Shikamaru shook his head, leaning forward, "First, this woman goes through all the trouble of manipulating the_ _ **Raikage,**_ _just to get to Kanoko, only to turn around and try to kill her for some kind of petty revenge. That just doesn't make sense. And why was the Sound there? What did they have to gain in all of this? If that's not enough, now we have an unknown player: Whoever killed Yamanaka Asami. We can't just leave this-"_

 _Shikamaru was cut off when Shikaku's fist hit the table, hard, making everyone jump slightly, "I said enough!"_

 _The room went silent as no one moved, not even to finish their dinner. They just sat there in silence, staring down at Shikaku's white fist and tiny cracks in the table beneath it._

 _Kanoko heard her brother swallow and knew what was coming next. Snapping her head up to her brother, she frowned and shook her head at him – telling him to stop._

 _Shikamaru frowned at her, catching her in a short contest of wills before turning his face back to his father, "No. While I don't know why, Kanoko was clearly the intended target. If Tsunade hadn't sent a group of us out to investigate, I think things wouldn't have ended like they did. What I mean by that is I don't think this was a revenge mission – at least, not in the way it was portrayed. I think it was always supposed to be a kidnapping, just not by the Cloud. But I don't know that for sure because I'm missing critical pieces of the puzzle, such as, Asami's supposed revenge."_

 _One of Kanoko's eyebrows rose as high at it would go. She was shocked by her brother's theory. To be honest, while she knew more was going on then what was being portrayed, her brother's conclusion made a lot of sense._

 _Which greatly worried her. Someone, or a group of people, was after her._

 _But for what reason?_

 _She had a few ideas lined up, but the real mystery was figuring out which one it was without letting any of her secrets slip._

 _Unfortunately, it was during this moment, when Kanoko was engrossed in a deep thought process, that her father chose to react poorly to Shikamaru's probing._

 _Slamming both of his hands on the table, making dishes chatter and food fly, Shikaku stood up and locked his hard eyes onto his son's form before drilling into him, "I said it wasn't your concern, Shikamaru, and I meant it! You're just a boy, you don't know anything, and you're only going to get yourself hurt if you stick your nose where it doesn't belong!"_

 _Shikamaru just wouldn't give up, "But Kanoko-"_

" _You're not like your sister and you need to stop trying to convince yourself that you are!" Shikaku shouted, "Kanoko's been training for years while you, to this very day, go out of your way to avoid any sort of strenuous activity. I've never gotten on to you about your lack of drive because you are my son and I know eventually you will grow out of it, and become the man I know you can be, but that day is not today!"_

 _Shikamaru stared wide eyed at his father – completely taken aback by his words and tone. The young Nara opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't get a sound out._

 _Shikaku stared down at his plate with an exhausted and lifeless look. With a heavy sigh, Shikaku spoke quietly, "I know after failing the both of you the way I did that I have no right to demand anything from you…"_

 _Kanoko turned her head, watching her father push the chair in and turn around – walking towards the front of the house. Just as he was about to exit the room, he finished his sentence, "…As your father, I'm tell you to drop it."_

 _And with that, Shikaku was gone._

 _ **End Flashback**_

That had been three weeks ago and Shikaku hadn't been home once.

For the last two of those three weeks, Kanoko had prodded her mother to do something about her husband. Yoshino simply shook her head sadly and told Kanoko that she was trying.

Kanoko eventually decided that if no one else was going to step up and knock some sense into Shikaku then she would.

Walking swiftly through the crowd, she honed in on the chakra signature that could only belong to her father. Swinging the doors open, Kanoko fixed her sharp orange eyes on the man standing in the middle of the room, talking to a couple shinobi she recognized: Kotetsu and Izumo.

"Out." Kanoko ordered firmly, her words meant for the two chunin while her eyes stayed locked on to her father's form.

Kotetsu opened his mouth, gaping at Kanoko. Izumo gave the girl a concerned looked as he spoke in a gentle tone, "Kanoko, I'm sorry, but we were in the middle of-"

" **Out.** " Kanoko repeated, her eyes snapping to the two chunin – her blazing eyes turning slightly red.

The two quickly bolted out of the room, feeling the intensity of her chakra and not wanting to become a casualty of war – especially a war between two Naras.

The door slammed shut behind her and her father stared down at her with an expressionless look. The room turned silent. Neither Nara moved nor did their hard gaze at each other break. For several minutes, the two stared silently, assessing each other before making a move.

"Kanoko, I don't have time-" Shikaku started.

"Inoichi probably told you of the complex intricacies of their secret jutsus and how you weren't at fault. That there was nothing you could do." Kanoko started, interrupting her father, "Chouza probably pulled you in for a manly hug and let you know that everyone is here to support and care for you – no matter what. And Kaa-san likely yelled at you for pulling away from everyone, including your children, before letting you know that she would always be there for you even while you pushed her away."

Shikaku frowned at his daughter, "Kanoko. You know how much I care about you and Shikamaru, and I know we have a close relationship – the two of us – but I am still your father and you can't just barge into my office and-"

Kanoko ignored him, interrupting Shikaku again, "But I'm here to tell you that **are** you at fault for Shikamaru's injuries. You should have been stronger. You should have **fought harder** for your family."

Shikaku's eyes went wide before paling drastically. Taking a step back, he placed a hand on his desk behind him to keep him upright.

Kanoko continued to drill into him with an angry look and her arms crossed, "But that is not what has me infuriated. What upsets me is the way you are handling it: **Like a child.** " Kanoko paused before continuing, "How old is Naruto? Twelve? Do you know how he is working through his angry and depression with himself for harming a teammate and friend? By training harder, learning more, and strengthening the bonds between him and those he cares for."

Kanoko's eyes narrowed, her face turning into a sneer, "What are you doing? Pushing away your friends and wife. Yelling at your son and **avoiding me**. You are putting all the blame on yourself and none of it on the circumstances. Don't get me wrong, you are to blame for your own weakness, but if you are serious about getting stronger for your village and family, you need to accurately assess the situation and **not wallow in self-pity**."

The young Nara closed her eyes, "Drowning in a pool of your own guilt and self-pity is both disgusting and disrespectful to every genin, chunin, and jounin you send out into battle. If you can't grow from your failures, you'll only weaken until you shatter, except you won't be the only one in pieces."

Shikaku stared at his daughter, his expression unreadable.

After several minutes of staring blankly at Kanoko, Shikaku silently moved around his desk and sat down. He began pulling out papers and making marks on them with his pen – as if Kanoko wasn't there or had even walked into the room.

*BAM*

Kanoko palm slammed onto the top of her father's desk, right where he was writing, and making the desk crack under the pressure.

Shikaku stared at the hand stopping him from continuing his work with a dull expression. Finally, Shikaku sighed tiredly. With a voice lacking any emotion, he spoke, "I don't expect you to understand-"

"Do not speak to me about understanding." Kanoko told him, her tone sharp, "You don't think I don't blame myself for Shikamaru's injuries during the Suna Invasion? I should have been with him and my team when they pursued the Sand's Jinchuriki, but I was being selfish. That selfishness nearly cost me **my brother**. That patch of skin in the center of his chest, where Shikamaru blocked Gaara's Tailed Beast Bomb aimed at Naruto, every time I see it…" Kanoko turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut, as if in physical pain, "…I know it's there **because of me**."

Kanoko opened her eyes back up and leaned her face close to Shikaku's, "I know it hurts you – knowing it was your hands, your chakra, your techniques that landed Shikamaru and I in the hospital, but you can always tell yourself that you did everything you could to stop yourself from hurting us – that you were under the influence of a powerful jutsu."

Kanoko leaned back, "I don't get that luxury. I **know** that my actions resulted in Shikamaru nearly losing his life. So don't you **dare** compare your pain to mine. **You couldn't even begin to understand all of my agony.** "

Shikaku stared wide eyed into his daughter's reddish orange eyes. They were so sharp. Her eyes looked both full of life and thick with death – something he had only seen in the eyes of shinobi older than him. Most shinobi, especially from the Leaf, had eyes full of life while others, like Kakashi, were thick with death and sorrow. It was a rare sight to see both life and death reflected in another's eyes.

Choking slightly on his breath, Shikaku tried to speak, "I-"

"I know you fought her. I saw it in the way you limited your chakra in the beginning and I saw it in the way you locked up your body at the end. I know, if you could have, you would have taken that kunai you were using to fight me off and slit your own throat, if it meant keeping your children safe." Kanoko leaned over the desk and placed a hand on her father's shoulder, "You think the battle is over with, that it ended with her at the northern border of the Land of Fire. It didn't. And right now, **she's winning**."

The loud sound of Shikaku's chair scratching against the wood floor as he stood suddenly, both hands on his desk to brace himself. Snapping his eyes to his daughter's own sharp ones, Shikaku spoke deep and loud, "Would you let me speak?! You're as bad as your mother…"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, but motioned for him to speak.

Shikaku waited, not wishing to be interrupted again before speaking, "…You're right. I didn't, or perhaps just refused to realize that I was only making things worse by getting lost in my guilt. I reverted back to a much younger, less experienced version of me. A version of me that let my fears, guilt, and blinding weakness get his friends hurt and other killed. I promised myself I would never be that person again and I would teach my children the same."

Shikaku gritted his teeth as he shut his eyes, "But you're also wrong. Feeling responsible for the horrible things that happen to your friends and family members is one thing, to be **directly responsible** for your own child's suffering is another."

Kanoko opened her mouth to speak but was silenced when she caught small drops of water hit Shikaku's desk, "You have no idea, what it feels like… to hold your little girl in your arms when she's first born… you were so small… just this little bundle. So fragile and helpless. It's in that moment that you know, that this little thing, your little girl, she needs you. You are her everything. You're the one that's going keeps her full, happy, safe, and loved…"

His body shook as he sucked in air, "To watch your children bleed is one thing… to watch as your own hands…" Shikaku choked on a whimper trying to escape. With a broken voice, Shikaku asked, "How can I ever even think to hold you again? … To pat you on the back as my chest fills with pride? … Hug you when you're sad? … Comfort you when you need support?"

Water streamed freely down his face, "How… how can a father… just do that to his own children…" His voice cracked as a sob escaped, "And think everything is ok?! That he could ever… that he would ever deserve…"

Shikaku jumped slightly when he felt small arms wrap around his waist from the side.

"You deserve our forgiveness because it is ours to give." Kanoko told her father quietly. The position was awkward, since she was still quite small in comparison to her father and the desk was in the way, but she was determined to get her point across. Tightening her hold, Kanoko continued, "Shikamaru and I know how much you love us. We know that no matter what, you and Kaa-san will never stop loving us. We know this because it's how we feel about the two of you: We will always love the both of you. Through each and every trial life puts us through, we will continue to fight for our family: The people we love unconditionally."

Kanoko looked up, "So listen to me when I tell you: **We forgive you**."

"You shouldn't." Shikaku responded, his tone low.

"That's not your decision to make." Kanoko told him with a frown before smirking suddenly, "You're a male Nara. What made you think you were allowed to make your own choices?"

The mixed noises of heavy breathing and a deep short laugh echoed in the room. Turning his body so he could pull Kanoko in, Shikaku pressed his daughter into his chest for a crushing hug, "You are your mother's daughter. I know you didn't get your strength and stubbornness from me."

Kanoko chuckled back, "No, I didn't."

.

"But you gave me something better: A family."

.

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"Well… that doesn't bode well…" Kakashi sighed dramatically as he watched the chunin Kotetsu and Izumo run out of the Hokage's tower with a fearful look on their faces.

.

It was a calm peaceful day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A lot of the buzz surrounding the Waterfall Village and the Cloud kidnapping had died down as new rumors and gossip flooded the streets of Konoha. Tsunade and the other leaders of the village had done a particularly good job of appeasing the other villages while spreading other interesting rumors around Konoha to get everyone's mind off the fragility of the Leaf's foreign relations.

Yukie Fujikaze, better known as Princess Gale, is a princess in real life? Morino Ibiki had a little brother and he looks and acts normal?! There is a man-beast-tiger thing running around?!

An Aburame laughed?!

Kakashi laughed to himself, " _That last one is clearly a hoax._ " The one eyed ninja shook his head. Kakashi was currently leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, looking down at the village. He hadn't had much time to do anything these days, with all the missions he was assigned to.

Kakashi grimaced at the memory of Naruto yelling at him for never being around and training Team 7. In Kakashi's defense, he had barely had time to stand in front of the memorial stone and pay his respects to all of his fallen friends and family. Kanoko had been doing a great job of steering Sakura and Naruto in the right direction anyways.

When she wasn't stuck on several D-ranked missions.

The copy nin paled at the memory. If he thought Naruto was bad…

Kakashi had made the unfortunate mistake of thinking he would relax and have a little fun with his tightly wound student. After hearing that Tsunade had placed the young Nara on D-ranked duty for the unforeseeable future, Kakashi strolled into the Hokage's office to file a request for shinobi assistance – and he would pay whatever cost that was required to make sure his adorable little student was assigned.

The mission was simple enough.

Kakashi claimed he was _**severely**_ injured after his last mission and needed a gofer to go and get things for him. Like his back scratcher which was _just_ out of reach right when he had a life threatening itch. Seriously. He **could have died**.

When Kanoko showed up at his door with a dark scowl on her face and a promise of death, the copy nin quickly rethought his wisdom in this harmless prank.

But Kakashi knew that Kanoko had to complete all of her assigned D-ranked missions or her probation would be extended indefinitely.

And you know what they say, in for a penny, in for a pound

So, Kanoko spend a total of three hours running from his house, which was in the middle of nowhere, to the store, purchasing one item at a time for Kakashi, since he couldn't be bothered to remember **everything** in one go and list them all for Kanoko.

Then, he had Kanoko wash **all** of his laundry, watching her gag as she used her sword and sheath as chopsticks to pick up all the clothes, all while he wrote letters to his various _**friends**_.

After Kanoko had returned from washing all of his clothes, with a look of poorly concealed murderous intent, Kakashi sent his little student out to deliver all of his _**handcrafted**_ messages.

Kakashi did regret not thinking that last one through very well.

He would have really liked to have seen the look on Kanoko's face when Gai dramatically and loudly turned her down after reading her _**love confession**_ detailed in the letter she provided him – hearts around his name and everything.

Although, the look on her face when she teleported in front of him – he didn't like it when his late-sensei did it, he especially didn't like it when his student did it – was enough to regret the action in its entirety.

.

And Kakashi had been in hiding ever since.

.

Kakashi was now on the constant look out for his little demon of a student – people can tell him that Naruto is the demon in his team all they like, but everyone who **knew** Kanoko, knew better – which meant he was constantly watching over her and her little following whenever he was back in Konoha.

After a while, Kakashi started to bring popcorn and a small drink as he watched the growing entertainment he labeled as, "The Kanoko Chronicles".

Whether it be because of nearly losing Kanoko to the Cloud/Sound or just the way she is **determined** to act like a middle aged man, all of her classmates had been circling around her and demanding her attention.

Kakashi wondered briefly if he could find a way to market his student's struggles.

The girls, specifically Ino, were hovering around Kanoko at all times, trying to bait her into clothing and makeup stores. There was one store that made Kakashi blush and sent Kanoko running out with a look of complete and utter horror on her face.

And then there were the boys.

Kakashi wondered if Hiashi's father or mother was a professional stalker or something. Kakashi had thought he would only have to deal with the Hyuuga girl hovering around Team 7, watching intently as Naruto trained. Apparently the Hyuuga prodigy was also victim to this genetic defect. More times than not, Kakashi and Neji ran into each other as they continued to stalk – cautiously follow – Kanoko around the Leaf village.

The Inuzuka boy and the rest of team Gai tended to leave Kanoko alone for other pursuits, but even Chouji and Shino were often seen around Kanoko, either for a friendly chat or tips on training.

And then there was Sasuke and Naruto…

Kakashi sighed greatly as he watched Naruto chuckle at what he thought was another clever trick. The blonde quickly hid around the corner as Kanoko stepped out of the Hokage's tower, who paused in her step to shoot the wall, which was blocking her from seeing Naruto's laughing form, an annoyed look.

Naruto had taken Kanoko's willingness to help Sasuke as an act of war. He may have accepted Kanoko's reluctant offer to train him as well – after hours of yelling at her – but Kakashi knew Naruto would not let Kanoko's **betrayal** go unpunished.

The problem was Naruto had been pranking Kanoko since the two met, back in the academy. She knew all of his tricks at this point and was becoming an impressive sensor to boot. Every trap he had set up had failed spectacularly.

Naruto had even petitioned Tsunade to create a D-ranked mission so he could get Kanoko back. The Fifth Hokage responded with two words after turning Naruto down:

Hatake Kakashi.

.

Kakashi felt a little sense of pride at that one.

Before remembering why he was hiding in the trees with his Sharingan wide open as he tried to sleep.

.

Kakashi was pulled from his thoughts when he saw his student – the demon child, not the child with a demon inside – teleport behind Naruto with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

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"AHH!" Naruto screamed, jumping as Kanoko appeared behind him.

Kanoko glared at Naruto as he spun around before tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground with a hard thud. Kanoko looked down at her blonde team, "I grow tired of your immaturity."

Naruto returned his teammate's glare with one of his own. Brushing the dirt off of him, Naruto quickly rose to his feet, "And I'm growing tired of your, holier than thou, attitude!" Naruto proceeded to cross his arms and turn up his nose, "First you go and train duckbutt-"

"We've already had this conversation, Naruto…" Kanoko warned with narrow eyes.

"-then you completely ignore your team-" Naruto continued as if Kanoko hadn't spoken.

"Ignore you guys? How does that work?! I see you every morning! And Sakura and Ino won't leave me alone!"

"-go on a bunch of missions without us-"

"D-ranked. D-ranked missions. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"-and then you decide that Sasuke, Sakura and I aren't good enough for you and you decide to train Shikamaru in secret!" Naruto stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, "I know he's your brother and all and clan secrets, blah blah blah, but I thought I was like… an honorary Nara or something…" The blonde finished with in quiet tone.

Kanoko stared open mouthed at Naruto, "What?!"

Naruto shrunk a little and turned to the side, "Obviously I was wrong… you don't have to go make a big deal about it…"

Kanoko shook her head in a huff, "Stop. That's not what I meant. Kaa-san has all but formally adopted you. When was the last time you ate in your own home? Honestly. And Kaa-san even makes me buy supplies for your stupid ramen we eat all the time, and that noodle merchant is going to die a swift and painful death if he stares at my chest one more time…" Kanoko cut herself off with a small curse, "What I mean is, what are you talking about? What is this secret training with Shikamaru you think I'm doing?!"

Naruto grinned widely, forgetting his earlier irritation with Kanoko before flinching at her darkening gaze, "Uhh… When I was looking for you a couple weeks ago, I ran into Shikamaru. He was on the other side of your guy's compound. When I asked him what he was up to, he said he was on his way to train. I thought it was odd because I had just ran into Chouji who was celebrating with his Dad about something and asked Shikamaru if I could join. He said I couldn't because it was secret clan jutsus."

Kanoko nodded, processing the information, "And you assumed that included me."

Naruto shrugged, "Well duh." The blonde tilted his head and looked at Kanoko curiously, "You mean, you're not?" Naruto frowned, "Why would pops leave you out of clan training?"

Kanoko turned her head back to the Hokage's tower and narrowed her eyes, "He wouldn't. And that's the problem."

Naruto opened his mouth to question Kanoko more, but his teammate's cold eyes stopped him.

"Contact Kakashi-sensei." Kanoko told Naruto, "He's been avoiding me for reasons I refuse to disclose-" Kanoko started before getting interrupted by a smirking Naruto.

"That ship has sailed. The whole village knows about your confession to bushy-brow's sensei." Naruto's fox like grin grew, "You should have seen Neji when he was told of the news." He then shrugged, "But if you're going for duckbutt, he just shrugged and said he didn't mind. Something about random bouts of insanity running in the family already…"

Kanoko shut her eyes and growled low, " **Anyways**. Find Kakashi and tell him this one word: Rokumaru."

Naruto nodded, "Roku-maru?" He spoke, trying out the word.

Kanoko nodded, "Rokumaru. Just tell him, Rokumaru. Can you do that Naruto?"

Naruto gave Kanoko an annoyed look, "I'm not as dumb as everyone thinks I am. I can remember a stupid word!"

Kanoko sighed, "I know. Just, tell him quickly. I'm not sure how much time I'll have." Kanoko turned to the south, "He's somewhere in those trees, but he won't let me get close." Kanoko turned back to Naruto, "I'm relying on you Naruto. Please don't let me down."

Naruto grinned bright, giving Kanoko a thumbs up, "You can count on me!"

Kanoko smiled lightly back, "Thank you."

And with that, Kanoko disappeared in an instant.

Naruto turned towards the trees Kanoko pointed out and raced across the area.

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Kanoko's sharp eyes scanned the area before her. She was on the edge of the Nara forest, on the border of the Leaf Village. The area was deathly quiet and the grass at her feet barely moved. She was in a small clearing with incredibly tall trees encircling the flat patch of grass.

The former Hokage took a step forward, her eyes locked onto the small traditional house before her. Centered inside that house, she could feel the individual she was looking for. Kanoko stopped in her movements, her back stiffening and her heart racing, when she saw the front door swing open slowly.

Walking slowly out of the shadows was a man with sharp cheek bones, a deep black spiky ponytail, and long dark goatee with slivers of silver. He was covered in a typical male kimono, but Kanoko could see the impressions of armor plating beneath it.

The man's dark eyes locked onto Kanoko's tense form, "Well, well. I was wondering how long it would take for you to appear before me." The man smirked, "Your brother must not mean as much to you as you profess. It's been **weeks**."

Kanoko's teeth gritted as her chakra flared dangerous before she forced herself to breathe deeply and calmed herself down. Kanoko's orange eyes flared red as she narrowed her eyes, "I assumed Shikamaru would come to me with any difficulties he was facing." Kanoko's frown deepened, ' _I appear to be wrong. Tou-san's words must have made a bigger impact than I first realized._ '

Rokumaru stared at Kanoko with an emotionless look, "Young boys typically look for a father figure when their current one is absent, and my son is absent a lot."

"That gives you no right to fill that role for him." Kanoko slowly inched her hand closer to her scroll pouch, "Especially not from a man like you."

Rokumaru's expression did not change, "And what are **you** going to do about it?" The elder scoffed, his hand dipping into his kimono sleeve, "A small girl like you. Without her father to defend her. Without her village to trust her."

Kanoko clicked her teeth, "You… the Cloud, the Yamanaka… It was all a ploy to weaken me. To discredit me." Kanoko's eyes hardened, "All to get to Shikamaru."

Rokumaru raised an eyebrow, "You think I would go through that much effort, just to defeat a little girl such as yourself?"

The brunette slid her foot out slightly, in order to strengthen her stance, "After the last time we met?" Kanoko's hand slide slowly into her scroll pouch, "And the promise I made to you, if you ever laid a hand on my family?"

Rokumaru's eyes narrowed, "You mean **my** family." Bending his knees slightly as the wood porch beneath his feet cracked slightly at the intensity of his compressed chakra.

"No." Kanoko said slowly, her fingers wrapping tightly around her scroll, "I mean **my family**."

A heavy gust of wind cut through the air as metal clashed against metal. Kanoko floated in the air, her sword screeching as it scratched against Rokumaru's blade. Rokumaru gazed coldly at Kanoko above as he called upon the shadows at his feet to rip through Kanoko.

Kanoko pulled her open scroll through the air, "Release!"

Rokumaru hissed out a curse as a blinding light erupted from the scroll. The shadows dissipated from the burst of light giving Kanoko the opening she needed, "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!" Kanoko spit sharp water senbon at Rokumaru.

The image of Rokumaru faded into black on impact.

" _Shit!_ " Kanoko thought, twisting her body around to defend against the intense chakra aimed at her back. She doubled down on her curse when the thick black tendrils ripped through her.

Rokumaru's eyes narrowed when a log dropped in his granddaughter's place.

A reflection of light caught his eye. Shifting his eyes to his right, he stared expressionless at the cool metal against his neck.

"When did you mark me?" Rokumaru asked indifferently.

Kanoko's eyes narrowed at the shadow wrapped around her leg, preventing her from moving any farther, "The first time you laid your hands on me."

"I doubt that." Rokumaru responded with a scoff before using his shadow hold on Kanoko to toss her across the field.

Kanoko went flying and skidded across the grass, leaving a small wake in her path. Catching her footing, Kanoko crouched on the ground before snapping her eyes up. Even though Kanoko could move her body, she felt Rokumaru's chakra connected to her own. Looking down at the ground, she noticed the long black line connecting the two of them together.

The two Naras stared each other down, the air thickening from their dark chakra lashing out.

Rokumaru stared down at Kanoko, "What will you do now, little girl?"

Kanoko's grip tightened around her sword, but chose not to respond, " _I can't let this man get his hands on Shikamaru, but my position in the village is already fragile. Killing him, if I even could with this weak body, would only give the elders reason to charge me with treason._ " Kanoko gritted her teeth as she cursed, " _He has me out played..._ " Kanoko's eyes drifted back down to the shadow locking her in place, " _…and out gunned._ "

Rokumaru gave Kanoko a cold, eyes half lidded look, "What did you hope to gain by this _**skirmish**_? Surely, you did not come here thinking that you would warn me off of your brother and I would listen to you with bated breath?"

Kanoko glared at the elder.

Rokumaru's cold expression slowly turned into a dark smirk, "Like I said, I've been expecting you for weeks." The elder Nara raised his hand.

Kanoko's eyes snapped around the area. From behind the trees emerged four cloaked shinobi. " _Nara clan members._ " Kanoko thought, using her sensory skills to pick out their chakra signatures and clan origins.

"Your brother has made great progress under my tutelage." Rokumaru spoke in a deep voice. His eyes flashed as they locked onto Kanoko's reddish orange ones, "Years ahead of his father, when Shikaku was his age. And that is just after a few weeks."

Rokumaru motioned his shinobi to approach. Kanoko's eyes sharpened as they focused on the ninja closing in on her slowly.

"I may be unable to kill you now, but the same is true for you." Kanoko told Rokumaru in a deep tone of her own, "I may not believe in the myth surrounding the Nara clan, but you do." Kanoko gritted her teeth as Rokumaru's jutsu tethered her down while his underlings each grabbed an arm and pulled them behind her roughly.

Rokumaru smirked as he slowly approached his granddaughter, "You're right…" Once he was only a foot away, the Nara elder stared down at Kanoko before roughly grabbing her chin, "…but you are also wrong…"

Bringing his face down, Rokumaru stared directly into Kanoko reddening eyes, "My son… When he tells the story of the Maned Wolf, he leaves out an important part."

Kanoko glared harshly back at the man before her, "What makes you think I'd believe your words over that of my father's?"

Rokumaru chuckled deeply, "Because the truth of your pre-determined future is a much darker, sicker, and viler reality than any parent would ever want for his children. Especially for his precious daughter."

Rokumaru paused to watch Kanoko reaction before continuing, "You see, the gods the deer spoke to didn't just curse them with human bodies and the threat of the Maned Wolf's return. No… they set it up so the Maned Wolf's return was guaranteed."

"You think some tall tale and it's supposed curses are a concern for me?" Kanoko scowled, her teeth gritting at the pain of Rokumaru's tight grip on her chin.

"Even you will be unable to ignore this piece of the _**tale**_ , as you call it." The elder spoke in a deep and haunting tone.

Kanoko's glare intensified as Rokumaru pulled her in closer and whispered in her ear.

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Red eyes widened.

Her pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

The air escaped her lungs as she forgot how to breathe, her whole body frozen in shock.

"You're lying." Kanoko spoke, trying her hardest to keep her voice from cracking.

Rokumaru released her chin and stood back up straight, "This brings me no pleasure and only serves to complicate my goals." Rokumaru's cold gaze locked onto the top of Kanoko's head, "Tell me, for what purpose would this fact serve me?"

Kanoko stared wide eyed at the ground before her. She didn't have an answer to the elder Nara's question and she had nothing to console herself with, to convince herself that Rokumaru was lying.

The biggest problem was how much it made sense.

And that was what scared her the most.

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"Water Style: Water Dragon!"

Rokumaru's head snapped up to see a large dragon made of water shoot down from above.

Kanoko ripped one of her arms from the ninja's grip as the water poured down on her, "Water Style: Water Shockwave!" Kanoko shouted, using the water from the dragon and whipping it around her violently.

Kakashi landed next to his student, his Sharingan snapping around the area and counting the enemies, "Friends of yours?" Kakashi asked in an indifferent tone.

Kanoko glared at her clansmen before speaking dully to her sensei, "Took you long enough."

Kakashi scratched his head sheepishly, "I _**may**_ have thought you were sending Naruto after me as a clever way of getting your revenge…"

Kanoko scoffed, "As if I'd let anyone get **my** revenge, for me, after what you did."

Kakashi chuckled nervously, "…And then, once Naruto finally pinned me down, he forgot what he needed to tell me. He was so mad at himself he started beating his head against the wall in frustration. I stuck around because it seemed important…" Kakashi's eyes travelled from Kanoko to her grandfather across the way, "Glad I did."

"You and me both." Kanoko answered truthfully.

"Hatake Kakashi." Rokumaru spoke evenly, "You must be invited to come on the lands of the Nara clan."

Kakashi shrugged, "Didn't you hear? I got a personal invitation from the clan's heiress."

Rokumaru smirked slightly, "That's not quite the title Kanoko holds, but it's close enough." The elder turned and started walking away, "Until next time, dearest granddaughter."

Kanoko's hard gaze fixed on the elder Nara's back as he and his shinobi disappeared into the thick green of the trees.

The copy nin visibly relaxed next to her before pulling down his headband slowly, once he concluded that there were no other threats nearby. With a sigh of relief, Kakashi turned his head down to his student. He raised an eyebrow at her stiff form, "What was that?"

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Kanoko's gaze did not move from the spot Rokumaru once occupied, "A nightmare."

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"Training?" Naruto asked, his eyes focused on the scroll in front of him. Naruto was in his apartment, surrounded by the usual ramen cups and other discarded trash. This is where Naruto found himself most evenings: Sitting on his bed, hunched over the scroll Kanoko gave him which detailed his clan's history.

"That's right! You are now officially my apprentice." Jiraiya answered, standing on the rook outside of Naruto's window, "Within three years, I will make you a full-fledged ninja." Jiraiya finished with a smirk, his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

Naruto snapped his head towards Jiraiya to give him an irritated glare, "No."

The sannin blinked once before jumping in surprise, "What?! Why?!"

Naruto crossed his arms and turning his nose up, "All you do is chase women around, get drunk, break into bath houses, and **spend my money**!"

Jiraiya looked sheepish for a minute before crossing his arms and pouting, "Look kid, I'm Jiraiya the toad sage. Seal master of the Leaf! Do you know how many would kill to train with me?!"

The blonde just gave Jiraiya an unimpressed look, "Whatever! So you're this _great_ ninja! Give me a break! All I've seen you do is summon toads and get beat up by civilian women!" Naruto swung his body around and scoffed at the white haired man, "Duckbutt is getting training from Kanoko! I can't risk training with you, only to have you ditch me over and over again, and then come back to find Sasuke ten times stronger!"

Jiraiya gave Naruto an annoyed look, "You're going to pass up the teachings from a **sannin** to learn from a **twelve year old chunin**?" Jiraiya started to pull at his hair, "Are you serious?!"

Naruto picked up the scroll he was holding and threw it in Jiraiya's face, "That twelve year old chunin at least respected me enough to teach me about my clan! How come you never mentioned my clan and how they are directly related to the reason why I have a giant fuzzball in my stomach?!"

The scroll smacked into Jiraiya's face, forcing him to take a step back. Grumbling slightly at Naruto's treatment of him, Jiraiya pulled the scroll off his face and started scanning the words, "...one of their most prominent natural abilities was their great life spans. This was due to another of their natural gifts: A significantly large chakra pool from birth…" Jiraiya snapped his eyes from the scroll to Naruto, "Where did you get this?!"

Naruto huffed and gave Jiraiya another annoyed look, "Kanoko. Duh."

Jiraiya's eyes shifted from the scroll to Naruto and back to the scroll, "Abilities… Notable members… Typical chakra natures… Preferred fighting style…" Jiraiya paled suddenly, "T-t-the characteristics of an Uzumaki seal?!" Jiraiya couldn't believe what he was reading, " _Where the_ _ **hell**_ _did the Nara get this from?! My first thought is that she made all this shit up, but some of it's true!_ "

Jiraiya shot a quick and unsure look at Naruto, " _There's no way I can give this back to him. Not with what information is in this scroll! Who knows where he'll leave it, letting just anyone learn its secrets!_ "

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What?"

Jiraiya sweat-dropped, "Uhhh… Nothing. Just… Curious." Jiraiya looked at the scroll again, " _But if I don't give it back then there goes any chance I have of convincing him to leave with me… Naruto can't stay in the village, or in one place for long, while the Akatsuki are this active._ "

Tossing the scroll back to Naruto, beating himself up while doing so, Jiraiya sighed and spoke, "Look kid… You're concerned your teammate…" Jiraiya stopped to think, ' _Who is a freak of nature._ ' And then continued, "…is going to teach the Uchiha kid jutsus that will make him stronger than you, right?"

Naruto stared at Jiraiya suspiciously, but nodded slowly.

Jiraiya smirked, "Then the solution is simple! We just take your teammate with us! She won't be able to train with your rival anything if she's traveling the world with us!" Jiraiya finished by snapping his fingers and looking quite pleased with himself, ' _And I'll be able to interrogate this girl away from her overprotective father, clinically insane sensei, and take-over-the-world diabolical grandfather. It's a win-win!_ '

Naruto thought about the toad sage's proposal, tilting his head back and forth with his eyes closed before shaking his head, "There's no way you'll be able to convince Kanoko to join us in a two to three year camping trip. She hates your guts."

Jiraiya's jaw dropped, "What? Why?!" Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at Naruto suspiciously, "Unless you've been spreading untrue facts about me, any kid would be overjoyed to learn from the great Toad Sage Jiraiya!" Jiraiya finished with a hearty laugh and confident grin.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger at Jiraiya, "Don't go blaming me for your pervy ways! Don't you remember your peeping act in Suna?! Or the time you ditched her?! Or when she verbally sucker punched you in the gut for not training me properly?!"

Jiraiya paled slightly, "That's right…" Jiraiya shook his head quickly and took on a thoughtful look, ' _I'll have to find some way of convincing her…_ ' Jiraiya's gaze moved back onto Naruto, who was intently reading the scroll Kanoko gave him, ' _Or convince her to convince Naruto to leave with me._ '

Jiraiya sighed, ' _These kids are proving to be too much work. What happened to the good old days when my name alone would be met with awe and aspiration?_ '

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Kanoko walked slowly through the door of her home. Her eyes showing how tired she was as she stumbled into the kitchen.

"Oh! Kanoko honey!"

Kanoko turned her head to see Yoshino approach her, "Yes Kaa-san?"

Yoshino grinned wide at her daughter, "Guess who showed up here and took your mother out to lunch?"

Shikamaru groaned from behind Yoshino, "Just walk away while you still have a chance." He told his sister, "I'm going out to find Ino so she can scrub the mental images from my brain…"

Kanoko's hand snapped out and gripped her brother's wrist tightly. Shikamaru jumped slightly and look over at his sister, whose own gaze was turned away.

"Stay."

Shikamaru gave Kanoko a curious look, "Huh?"

Kanoko didn't answer right away. After a moment, she pulled her hand from his wrist and walked away, "Never mind."

Shikamaru watched his sister walk away, ' _She's really been acting odd lately…_ ' The young Nara turned towards the front door. He had promised Naruto that he would help with the party he was putting on with Chouji to celebrate the anniversary of their graduation day, ' _Maybe Sakura will know…_ '

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"Kanoko!"

Said preteen turned around tiredly, "Sorry Kaa-san. What were you going to tell me earlier?" Kanoko asked politely.

Yoshino looked down at her daughter with concerned eyes, "Honey, you look exhausted. Why don't you go to bed early?"

Kanoko sighed, "Naruto and Chouji are holding this party to celebrate the day we graduated. If I don't show up, everyone's going to be gunning for me the next few days." Kanoko paused to mumbled, "More than they already do…"

Yoshino blinked in surprise, "It's been year already?"

Kanoko nodded, "Surprisingly." Kanoko started to massage her shoulders, "I'm not sure if this year went by fast or went on and on, but either way, it's been an eventful year. That's for sure."

Yoshino nodded solemnly before suddenly grinning at her daughter.

Kanoko scooted away from her mother, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The Nara monarch placed her hands on her hips and smirked wickedly, "It is my job as your mother to make sure you look your best for such an important party!"

The former Hokage paled, "I don't really think that's necessary…"

Yoshino spun around from gathering up her things to narrow her eyes on her daughter, "What was that?" She asked dangerously.

Kanoko sighed, "Nothing…"

"Good." Her mother told her in a cheerful voice before grabbing Kanoko and pulling her out the door, "I've been meaning to take you bra shopping for quite a while now anyways."

*POOF*

"NARA KANOKO! YOU GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE, **RIGHT NOW!** "

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"Ugggg… this is such a drag…." Shikamaru whined out, collapsing in a chair, "Why are we doing so much work anyways, it's just a dinner…"

Ino wagged her finger in her teammate's face, "It's more than **just a dinner**! It's our way of congratulating each other and celebrating the fact that we're all still here and happy!"

Chouji nodded, while helping Naruto place the food on the table. The party was located in a diner the Akimichi clan owned. It was a small place, but they had a large room in the back for special parties, like the one the rookie nine would be having in a few hours.

Chouji grinned at the work the four of them completed, "It looks great guys!"

Naruto grinned, nodding with the plump boy, "I can't wait! Everyone's going to love it!"

Ino walked over and patted the boys on the back, "This was a great idea guys!" Ino looked at the two of them with a real grin, "You two are really stepping up in the world, you know that. You're not the losers you once were."

Naruto gave Ino a deflated look, "Thanks Ino. I'm not sure if I should feel complimented or insulted."

Shikamaru groaned lazily from his spot on the chair, "Just take it as both and move on. Women are born troublesome. Best not to fight them and instead, just give in."

Ino placed her hands on her hips and huffed at her lazy teammate, "How does Kanoko even put up with you?!" Ino pulled at her hair, "How do I put up with you?!"

Shikamaru shrugged and turned to Naruto and Chouji, "So how much longer until everyone shows up?"

Chouji shrugged back, "A few hours, right?"

Naruto nodded before looking around, "Sooo… What do we do now?"

Ino frowned at the boys, "Well, I'm heading out. I'm going to need every minute of those three hours to get ready!"

And with that, Ino was out the door.

"Three hours? Just to get dressed?" Naruto exclaimed before muttering, "And I thought Sakura-chan took forever…"

Chouji turned to Shikamaru while munching on his chips, "Cloud watching?"

Shikamaru groaned low as he pulled his body forward and got up slowly, "Yeah…" He responded lethargically.

Naruto blinked as the last two members of Team Ten walked out. "Hey! What about me?!" Naruto shouted to an empty room.

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Kanoko glared at the colored garbs in front of her, wondering if she could create a jutsu that set things ablaze with her mind alone.

"Kanoko! Stop looking like a hoodlum!" Yoshino chastised her daughter while holding up a dress, "Now go try this on!"

Kanoko grunted, but snatched the dress out of her mother's hand and stomped into the changing room.

"Do you need help with your new bra?" Yoshino shouted, making Kanoko go beet red.

"KAA-SAN!" Kanoko exclaimed, ' _This is so humiliating!_ '

Yoshino smirked evilly, "I was just asking…"

Kanoko glared at the wall, knowing better than to glare at her mother, and mumbled, "Why do I have to wear such a frilly thing anyways… What's wrong with bandages and a sports bra?"

Yoshino smirked, "They push up your boobs and makes you look cuter."

Kanoko went white.

"You'll understand when you get older." Yoshino shrugged as she started to look for a place to sit.

The young Nara turned green as her eyes scanned the area for a place to puke, " _I'm going to be sick again…_ "

Yoshino sat down and started turning the pages in a magazine she picked up, "Hurry up! We are going to the salon after this!"

*THUD*

"What?!" Kanoko called out while rubbed the top of her head where she knocked it into the light, "What the hell are we going to do there?!"

Yoshino smirked, her eyes still focused on the magazine, "I have an old friend that is going to work on your hair and makeup." Yoshino's grin grew, " _My daughter's going to be the most beautiful girl at this party! That'll teach my good for nothing son and husband to miss one of my dinners!_ "

Kanoko groaned quietly as she smacked her head against the wall, "I had to be born as a fucking girl… Didn't I…"

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Sakura turned around while gazing at herself in her mirror.

"You look fine honey."

Sakura looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway with a grin on her face. Sakura pouted, "Ino's going to be pulling all the stops to look better than me and get Sasuke's attention…" Sakura crossed her arms and pouted, "I'm not letting her win!"

Mebuki laughed at her daughter, "If you don't leave now, you'll have more to worry than your appearance!"

Sakura blinked before turning around to look at the clock on her bed side table. Her emerald eyes went wide, "What?! Oh no! I'm going to be late!"

Mebuki just continued to laugh at her daughter as Sakura jumped out the window.

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Shikamaru stared tiredly at the people entering the room. He was all the way in the corner with his hands in his pockets and leaning against the back of the chair he was sitting on. He yawned as he saw Sakura enter looking a bit ruffled, as if she ran here.

He watched as she scanned the room and deflated when she couldn't find Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, racing over to the pinkette. Blushing slightly, Naruto scratched his cheek nervously, "You look nice."

Sakura blinked at Naruto and turned ever so slightly pink before her attention was caught by the other blonde she knew.

"Well, well. If it isn't Billboard-Brow. Don't you know that dress is sooo last year?" Ino mocked Sakura, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

Sakura growled before yelling, "We're practically wearing the same thing!"

Sakura was wearing a pale pink sundress with red decorative buttons down the front. The dress was held up by spaghetti straps and the front was shaped like a heart. Ino, in turn, was in a similar dress, but this one was a deep purple color with thicker straps and no buttons.

Ino growled, "No way! Can't you see that my dress is made of a silk material!"

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Shikamaru turned his attention from the screaming girls to the newcomers. Sasuke had slipped in while the girls were arguing and had found himself a safe, dark corner to hide in, with Kiba trailing behind him.

Kiba grinned at Shikamaru, "Hey man! I didn't expect you to be here before me!" Akamaru bark cheerfully from the top of Kiba's head.

Shikamaru shrugged, "Chouji dragged me in."

Kiba nodded and looked around. Whistling at the scene he turned back to Shikamaru, "That's right, Chouji and Naruto put this on…" The Inuzuka's attention moved over to the blonde and brunette, "Chouji! Naruto! This is awesome guys!"

Naruto grinned as Chouji chuckled, "Thanks Kiba! How's Akamaru?"

Kiba grinned, looking up at his buddy, "Chasing tail and rolling in the dirt whenever he can! "

Naruto laughed, "Sounds just like you!"

Kiba grinned back, "Haha! Yep!"

" **You haven't said hi to me yet**."

"GYAH!" Naruto screamed, jumping behind Chouji. Naruto peeked over his classmate and glared at the person, "Shino! Why do you keep doing that?!"

Shino smirked behind his collar, "Because it's fun."

Kiba and Chouji laughed at Naruto's annoyance. "He's right!" Kiba agreed, throwing an arm around Shino, "Where have you been buddy?!"

Shino shrugged Kiba off of him, "I have been busy on missions. What about you guys?"

Naruto cut in with a wide grin, talking about all the great missions he's been on since the last time they all met up.

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Shikamaru sighed, " _Where's Kanoko?_ " He thought it was odd that he sister was going to be the last to arrive. Even Hinata, followed in by Team Gai, had arrived at were now surrounding Naruto and Chouji, ' _She did look really tired…_ ' Shikamaru turned his gaze to Sasuke, who had been found by Sakura and Ino and looked like he was a hair of away from committing murder, ' _Neither Sasuke or Naruto look all that tired…_ '

Shikamaru sighed, "I'll ask her if she ever shows up _._ "

.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival!" Gai yelled out loudly when Kakashi tried to slip in discretely, "I challenge you-"

"Oh no you don't!" Iruka called out to the two jounin, "This is Naruto's anniversary of the day he became a ninja! I'm not letting the two of you ruin it by causing a scene!"

"You tell them Iruka!" Tsunade shouted with a laugh, "Now where's the sake?!"

Shizune sighed at her Hokage's antics. Torune came up behind her and patted her on the shoulder. Giving her a small smile, he asked, "Why don't we get something to eat? I don't think either of us have had anything since breakfast."

Shizune grinned back and let Torune guide her to the appetizers.

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"How's it going, kid?"

Shikamaru looked up at the person speaking to him, "Oh, Asuma." Shikamaru moved his eyes to the person next to him, "And Kurenai-sensei. How are you guys?"

Kurenai smiled at Shikamaru, "Good." Moving her crimson eyes over the room she spoke again, "Looks like everyone's here."

Shikamaru nodded, ' _Yeah. All but one._ '

"Actually, there's still two people missing."

Shikamaru looked up and was surprised at who he saw.

"Shikaku-san!" Asuma greeted him with a slight bow, "How are you?"

Shikaku nodded to the two jounin before looking down at his son with an apologetic look, "I'm doing better now. Thank you for asking."

Shikamaru smiled back at his father, glad that he was around. He had missed challenging his old man to shogi and the Nara household wasn't the same without him around. He knew that his father would talk to him later, but right now, he was happy to have him here.

Kurenai cut off Shikamaru's thoughts with a question, "Now that you mention it… Where is your wife and daughter?"

Shikaku shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine." The Nara clan head chuckled low, "Even after all these years, I've never been able to **quite** anticipate what Yoshino will do or say next."

Kurenai giggled, "Don't worry. It's a guy thing."

Asuma looked at Kurenai slightly annoyed and mumbled, "What do you mean by that?"

Kurenai just giggled more in response.

"Well I'll be damned…" Shikaku said suddenly.

Shikamaru, Kurenai and Asuma looked up to see Shikaku grinning widely ahead with a proud look on his face. Shikamaru quickly jerked his head towards the door. His small eyes went wide at the site, " _Oh shit…_ "

Standing in the doorway, looking for an appropriate item to slit her own throat, was his sister. She was wearing a simple white dress that ended just below her knees and a pair of white flats to match. Her hair was down and had a slight curl to it. The part that had Shikamaru the most shocked was the make up on her face. She wore a small amount of black eyeliner and her whole face had a little color to it - highlighting all of her features.

 _ **She was beautiful.**_

Shikamaru was across the room at a pace very few had ever seen him move.

Standing in front of his sister, he gave her an annoyed look before spinning around with his arms crossed. His half-lidded eyes scanned the room, ' _I_ _ **dare**_ _one of you to get close. See what happens._ '

Naruto was the first to approach with a shocked look on his face, "Woah! Kanoko! You look like a girl!"

Sakura raced over to whack Naruto on the back of the head, "Of course she looks like a girl! SHE IS ONE!"

Naruto whined over the growing bump on his head.

Ino was standing off to the side, giving Kanoko an uneasy look.

Kanoko sighed, "What?" She asked impatiently. Kanoko just wanted to leave and get out of this ridiculous costume as quickly as possible.

Ino hummed in thought, "I'm not sure how to feel. I'm proud that you are finally acting more like a girl, but don't like the fact that you're almost as pretty as me…"

"I'd say prettier…" Neji muttered off to the side.

Hinata whacked him lightly on the shoulder with a frown, "Neji!"

Ino glared at the long haired Hyuuga, "Why you!"

Kanoko looked over to Chouji, "Can we get this thing started?"

Shikamaru nodded to his friend, agreeing with his sister. He wanted out of here. **Now**.

Chouji laughed at the Nara siblings and called for everyone to gather around, "Naruto! You're up."

Naruto grinned, jump up and onto the table, "One year ago, we all took the exam to become a genin. For most of you, it was your first time." Naruto chuckled sheepishly, "For me, it was my third."

"And you still didn't pass!" Kiba barked out with a grin.

"Hey! I'm the one telling the story here!" Naruto shouted back with a pout before grinning again, "As dog breath said, I still did pass! I couldn't get that one jutsu down – the clone jutsu. Now look at me, using it to defeat the best of the best!"

Everyone laughed while Neji crossed his arms with a huff.

Naruto looked over at Iruka, "But I would have never been able to do without Iruka-sensei believing in me! You're the best Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka blushed as everyone turned to him and clapped while the genin thanked him for putting up with them and teaching them.

"But after we _**graduated**_ , we learned that we still weren't genin! Can you believe it?!" Naruto shouted, pouting slightly at the memory.

Chouji grinned, "I remember the look on Shikamaru's and Ino's faces when Asuma-sensei told us that only a third make it to genin! I thought for sure a bug was going to fly into their open mouths!" Chouji laughed harder at the memory.

"Thanks a lot Chouji." Ino mumbled at her teammate.

Naruto continued, "Team 7 had to go through, what Kakashi-sensei had dubbed, survival training. Ugg… man... he actually told us not to eat breakfast and then forced us to chase him around for some stupid bells, the jerk!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head while trying to ignore the stares at him.

"There were only two bells and he told us that only those with a bell would pass." Naruto started up again, "So the three of us took off in separate directions, trying to get a bell from Kakashi-sensei before our other teammates did."

Naruto turned and grinned at Kanoko, "Kanoko was the one that help Sakura and I when we were in over our heads, but we refused to work with her, thinking she was tricking us. Kanoko was stubborn though, and boy did she knock some sense into us!" Naruto stopped to giggle, "Right before slicing Kakashi's priced book in half."

Shikaku barked out a laugh, "I always wondered why Kanoko came home that day, burnt to a crisp."

Kakashi looked ashamed this time, "I greatly apologize Shikaku-san, for my deplorable behavior."

Kanoko crossed her arms and grumbled, "Oh, so he'll apologize to Shikaku, but not me – his **actual** victim."

"That was the day we learned a lot about being a real ninja. Kakashi-sensei, after frying Kanoko several times with his Chidori, taught us that a ninja who breaks the rules is scum, but a ninja who abandons their friends is worse than scum!"

Naruto looked down with a smile, "Kanoko called it the Will of Fire at the time. I didn't really think about it too much after that. I was more concerned with getting stronger and learning more jutsu." Naruto turned to face his friends, "But, no matter what challenge was put in front of us, the Chunin Exams or the Cloud kidnapping one of our own, we - all of us - have always been there for one and another – giving everything we got without any strings attached. That's when I knew what Kanoko and Kakashi-sensei, and even the old man Hokage, were talking about when they said a shinobi's greatest strength is their Will of Fire."

Naruto got quiet, "I always wanted a family…" His grin widened as he closed his eyes, "and I like to think I have one now. One big, ugly, bipolar family!"

"You idiot! You had to go and make me cry, didn't you?!" Kiba yelled out, rubbing his face with his sleeve.

"I AM ALSO MOVED TO TEARS BY YOUR YOUTHFUL SPEECH!" Lee shouted as well.

The adults laughed at their kids' antics.

Hinata smile at Naruto, "W-we're happy to be a part of your family, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked then grinned at Hinata before pulling her into a hug, "Thanks Hinata!"

Neji's eyes bulged out, "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF LADY HINATA!"

The other genin laughed as they dog piled on top of a, now passed out, Hinata, a screaming Naruto, and an angry Neji.

Kanoko turned to her brother and motioned over to the growing dog pile of their peers, "Aren't you going to join them?"

Shikamaru laughed and grinned, "Why not?" And with that, he pulled his sister with him into the giant mess of twelve year olds fighting for the top of the stack.

"Damn it Shikamaru!" Kanoko cursed as she fell into the pile with her laughing brother.

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000000000000000000000000

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Her hair floated in the wind as she stared out at the large expanse of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was well into the night. The air was wet and cold, and the moon was large and bright.

Kanoko stared expressionless at the scene before her. She remembered the first time she stood on the mountain side above the stone faces. Trees as far as the eye could see. It was crazy to believe that one day this land, stained with blood, tore by war, and burned in anger, would bloom into the beautiful village it was now.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" A deep voice spoke from behind her.

Kanoko didn't turn around, having felt his chakra signature approach from a mile away, "Are you here for the view, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya walked up next to her. He crossed his arms as he looked down at the village with a content smile, "I forgot how great of a view this spot was… especially at night."

The former Hokage nodded slightly.

Minutes of silence passed before Jiraiya turned his head and spoke, "You know, I was planning on tricking you or blackmailing you, but being back up here… It reminds me of my old sensei." Jiraiya smirked and closed his eyes, "Always preaching about the Will of Fire and nurturing the next generation…"

"He was great man." Kanoko cut in, with a proud tone in her voice, "Your sensei understood what so few in his time could even comprehend. He may have tripped and stumbled along the way, but his heart was always fueled by this village, by its people, and by the children that would make this place into something even more beautiful than what you see before you now."

Jiraiya frowned, "You make it sound like you knew the Third Hokage intimately."

Kanoko didn't respond.

The sannin sighed heavily before turning back to the glistering town below, "There is a group of shinobi whose end goal still eludes me."

The young Nara didn't respond or even lead Jiraiya to believe she was listening.

"But their short term goals have me concerned." Jiraiya spoke again, looking down at Kanoko, "Do you remember the missing-nin, an Uchiha, who attacked your sensei?"

Kanoko's eyes slowly drifted to meet Jiraiya's, "Uchiha Itachi."

Jiraiya nodded, "He and his partner are a part of a group called the Akatsuki. As I said, we don't know the true intent of this group… To unbalance the already fragile great ninja villages? To become a great ninja village of their own making? Or perhaps they are just rogues looking to do what they want, when they want…"

Kanoko interrupted him, "Why are you telling me this?" The brunette's expressionless gaze locked on to Jiraiya's, "I have given you no reason to trust me, and I am but a child. You already stated that you were intending to trick or blackmail me – neither of which would have worked, by the way – into doing what you wished. Why reveal your hand when the betting hasn't even begun?"

Jiraiya blinked before laughing loudly and deeply, "A gambling reference huh? Something Tsunade would appreciate, no doubt." The toad sage looked back out at the village as the wind picked up again and blew his long mane behind him, "I'm not sure. Perhaps is the scenery, perhaps it is my old mind clinging onto a moment in time long ago, perhaps I've finally lost my mind…"

Kanoko grunted, as if to imply that he had lost his mind a long time ago.

Jiraiya's eye twitched slightly, "What I'm trying to say, is that I'm willing to extend you an olive branch if you're willing to do the same with me."

The former Hokage took a step forward, approaching the edge. Looking down, Kanoko saw the tops of the Hokage stone heads. Her eyes traveled from the Fourth Hokage's head to pause on the Third's before skipping to the First's, "Tell me. This group, is their interest in Naruto due to his heritage or the tailed beast inside him?"

Jiraiya blinked in shock, "His heritage?"

"The Uzumaki legacy." Kanoko answered plainly.

Jiraiya relaxed, "Oh. No." The sannin paused before continuing, "It's the nine tailed fox they're after."

Kanoko nodded, her eyes closing to feel the cold wind blow against it.

Jiraiya started up again when Kanoko did not speak, "Naruto needs to get stronger. I promised I would train him, but I can't do that here in Konoha. There are things I must do and it isn't safe for Naruto to stay in the same spot for long, until he is strong enough to defend himself."

"This is his home. This is where his friends are. This is where his family lies." Kanoko told Jiraiya, "Do you not trust us to defend him with our lives?"

Jiraiya sighed, "That's what has me and Tsunade worried. You can't honestly tell me if an army stormed the Leaf Village that Naruto would not offer himself up to say his home and his newly created family?"

Kanoko responded with silence. Opening her eyes to gaze at her own stone head, she spoke quietly, "What are you asking of me?"

"Just like you said, this is Naruto's home. He doesn't want to leave it, even to get stronger and get closer to his dream of becoming Hokage." Jiraiya smiled lightly at the thought before continuing, "But he trusts you. He listens to you. If you can convince him, or better yet, come with us-"

Kanoko snorted loudly and sent Jiraiya an annoyed look, "You honestly think I would **ever** join you on a journey after **the last time**."

Jiraiya sweatdropped and laughed nervously, "I may have acted a little… Well, you know…"

Kanoko closed her eyes and scowled.

The toad sage groaned, "Come on! It was just one time!"

The Nara girl continued to grumble under her breath.

Silence filled the area once again as Kanoko's gaze lifted to the village once more. The cold air blew pass her, making her long dark hair drift lightly behind her.

Jiraiya sighed again, "If you won't join us, at least convince-"

"I will persuade Naruto to join you on your game of hide and seek around the Land of Fire." Kanoko spoke suddenly, "On one condition."

Jiraiya looked down at Kanoko with his arms crossed. He was silent, weighing the odds and the possible obligations Jiraiya would be forced to complete, before telling himself that there was nothing he would not do to keep his godson safe.

"What is your demand?" The sannin asked with a serious tone.

Kanoko stared out into the village, her eyes settling on one area in particular. Breathing evenly, Kanoko spoke.

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"Take Nara Shikamaru on as a student and bring him with you and Naruto on your three year journey."

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"Why?" Jiraiya asked, blinking in shock.

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Kanoko's arms fell limp at her side as she gazed lifelessly at the stone head created in the image of her first body, "For the same reason you are taking Naruto from his home."

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"I'm not strong enough."

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"Yet."

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 **0000000000000000000000000000**

 **Author's Note:**

 **Yeah! I'm back on schedule!**

 **Maybe!**

 **I fought with this chapter a few times and made several, several grammar errors, so thank you to FREELANCEBUM for not dying of annoyance over my constant use of hyphens and compound words! :D**

 **Also, the part with Yoshino was inspired by AnimeLover229! Don't worry ssj3gohan007, your scene is coming next!**

 **Please let me know your thoughts on the chapter, the story, the plot, the characters, and anything else you want to add! I love reading what you guys write and it really brings life to the story! You all play a huge part in making this story amazing!**

 **THANK YOU TO THE ALMOST 1,000 FOLLOWERS! WOOT WOOT!**

 **Also, thank you to everyone that reads or reviews or favorites!**

 **THANKS AGAIN GUYS! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU LOVED THE MOST!**


	37. Chapter 35

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You know... Having a twin is not all it's cracked up to be.

It's a real drag, if Shikamaru was going to be honest about the whole thing

He wasn't even given the _**luxury**_ of being an identical twin.

Why was he stuck with a _**girl**_? It wasn't fair… and in all honesty, had Kanoko looked a little more like him, he would have cut her hair and dressed her up to look like him. She acted like a guy a majority of the time anyways…

But back to his point… think about it. An **identical** twin.

Do you know how much shit he would be able to get away with?

His mother would come storming up to him and yell at him for something he didn't do (because he was a lazy bastard and love it) and he would just tear up and tell her that she was picking on the wrong twin and he was innocent. She would then apologize and leave him alone for the rest of the day.

Genius.

Pure Genius.

.

But no… Kami had to go and give him a _**sister**_.

Not **just** a sister either.

Kami went and gave him **Kanoko** – the most troublesome woman to have ever been born.

Which then brings him to **another** reason why being a twin is a total and utter drag.

Comparisons and expectations.

When they were younger, the two of them looked a lot more alike than they do now. Many people they met thought they were identical twins. Until their mother specified that one was, in fact, a boy and one was a girl.

And you know what?

No one ever got it right.

They always thought **he** was the girl!

They'd pinch his cheeks and tell his mother that he looked just like her and he would grow up to be a beautiful woman that all the men would be after. They would then turn to the serious looking (for a four year old) and tall standing Kanoko and coo at how brave and strong she looked. "He's going to be just like his father. Smart, strong, and braver than any man before him! You have really been blessed Yoshino-san!"

That's what they would say!

About **Kanoko!**

Not him!

And what did his mother do?

Laugh.

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She laughed.

.

Shikamaru quickly demanded his hair be put up in a similar ponytail to his father's. After that, the comments on his _**femininity**_ were never made again, and he **never again** left his house without his hair up either.

.

Unfortunately, the comparisons were just as bad, if not worse.

"Shikamaru, why haven't you started walking like your sister?"

"Shikamaru, no, no. Watch how your sister does it! Do it just like her."

"Have you seen Kanoko's test scores? How come Shikamaru's aren't as high?"

And none of those comments were from his parents!

As mentioned previously, not only was he given the **gift** of a **sister** , but he was given the **joy** that is _**Nara Kanoko**_.

Walking as soon as her legs could support her, talking before Shikamaru even _**thought**_ about moving on his own, and for goodness sakes, TRAINING before Shikamaru was even potty trained.

How does a kid measure up to that?

They don't.

That's what Shikamaru decided at an early age. Why try when nothing he does is going to be on the same level on his sister – the magical unicorn that poops out rainbows.

Until she screwed up.

He remembers it like it was yesterday. His mother had grabbed him and his sister and taken them to the park. Shikamaru, like everything else, just went with it – only complaining until his mother's glare proved too deadly to continue.

Once the three of them arrived, she pushed the two of them to go play with the other children. Shikamaru, like usual, just walked forward without a care and with a plan to find a quiet spot to watch the clouds as they drifted by (a pastime his father introduced him to).

Kanoko, however, just looked back and forth at all the children running around. Instead of fulfilling her parents expectations, like usual, she just plopped down on her butt next to their mother – not in the least bit interested in joining _**the fun**_.

The gears in Shikamaru's head quickly snapped into place and a wicked grin took over his features. Looking up at his mother, he gave her a dull look and whined that he didn't want to go play if Kanoko wasn't going to. For added effect, he shuffled his feet – trying to look shy.

His mother sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead, mumbling about a headache before turning to her daughter. Kanoko tried fighting their mother by shaking her head and throwing a small fit before quickly schooling her features.

Their mother didn't take no for an answer and grabbed the two of them by their small hands and dragged them into the center of the park. Dropping them next to a slide and jungle gym, she told them to go make friends and run around, or something.

Shikamaru nodded and walked off to find someone to play with. When he looked back, he found Kanoko side stepping kids and doing everything possible to avoid them touching her in any way. There had to be twenty kids running around, making Kanoko slightly dizzy as she struggled to avoid all of them and get to a safer place.

Not one to pass up an opportunity, Shikamaru pointed to his sister and shouted loudly in his high pitched voice, "Reverse tag! You're it!"

Kanoko tensed and snapped her head around to look at her brother with wide eyes.

Shikamaru's smirk grew, "I'll give my candy to the person that wins!"

Time stilled for a moment as Kanoko's shocked eyes snapped around the area to look at the demonic looking children and their outstretched hands.

Shikamaru just found a comfortable spot and leaned back to watch the madness. Kids were diving off of different levels of the jungle gym, others were teaming up to block Kanoko in and capture her, while Kanoko looked around in pure horror at the snot and drool flinging all over the place – it was complete madness.

Shikamaru loved every second of it.

Especially the part when Kanoko knocked one boy out by punching him directly in the face – who he would later learn was Uchiha Sasuke.

His mother quickly ran over and dragged Kanoko away, chastising her for her violent behavior all the way home.

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Apparently comparisons can go both ways.

Now it was, "Kanoko, why can't you get along with the other kids like Shikamaru?"

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Sure, it was only that one thing, but it was something!

And after a while, Shikamaru grew out of caring too much what other people thought of him. It was too exhausting to keep up with other people's expectations of him.

.

There were _**some**_ benefits of having a twin. If Shikamaru really thought about it...

Like never having to do something new by yourself. Every activity their parents forced them to do, every group they were made to join, and every new person they met, they did it as a team. Shikamaru didn't have to worry about finding a friend to make the experience bearable or flounder on his own. He always had his sister by his side.

It was probably at this point that he started to really look up to his sister, if Shikamaru was going to be honest. Every task assigned to them, Kanoko took the lead with poise and confidence while gently holding Shikamaru's hand and guiding him down the right path. There wasn't a single individual Kanoko feared and there was no task she was unfamiliar with.

Of course, he would have to do most of the charming when it came to their peers because Kanoko had a skill for saying the wrong thing and pissing off any kid she came in contact with.

Naruto was a prime example of this.

And anyone Shikamaru couldn't charm would meet the rough side of his sister's fist. Shikamaru didn't realize how violent Kanoko tended to be until boys of all ages tried to tease him, either for his close attachment to his sister or his best friend, Chouji, and his weight. It became quickly known, Shikamaru (and all those associated) is off limits unless you have Kanoko's permission.

Shikamaru tried to stay on his sister's good side for this reason.

Another benefit of having a twin was having common interests. Both of them liked strategy games like Shogi, enjoyed silence over speaking, were interested in their family's deer and taking care of them, they both enjoyed fish – mackerel in particular – and both the **loved** going to the hot springs.

There was nothing quite like lying around in the massaging, heated water of the hot springs, doing nothing at all.

Shikamaru was even interested in sealing – something Kanoko was oddly an expert in…

.

So, if Shikamaru was **forced** to compare the disadvantages of being a twin to the benefits, he _**supposed**_ he'd say it was about 20-80.

Twenty percent: Wondering which mystical power he pissed off in another life.

Eighty percent: Never regretting a single moment.

Why?

Because Kanoko was the first person he ever met. The first person he ever found comfort in. The first person he ever felt safe with. The first person he ever felt truly connected to.

The first person he can honestly say he loves.

.

Which is exactly why he is where he is now, resting against a tall tree on the edge of the Nara forest, looking up at the moon, wondering what he should do.

About two days ago now, Kanoko had pulled him to the side after dinner and asked if they could take a walk together. Shikamaru grumbled out that he was tired, but agreed. He wasn't ready to tell his sister that he had started secretly training with their estranged (he thinks – he's still not sure) grandfather and that was why he was sore and wanted to go to bed.

So out the door they went.

After when felt like **forever** to Shikamaru, they finally stopped walking and took a seat on a bench near the barely lit academy. Shikamaru wondered why Kanoko dragged him out here when she finally spoke to him.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _Shikamaru."_

 _Shikamaru turned to his sister with a curious look, "You going to tell me why you dragged me all the way out to the academy?" Shikamaru paused to chew lightly on the inside of his cheek, "Is this about Tou-san?"_

 _Kanoko shook her head then paused, "Not really." Kanoko looked up at the setting sun, "He's getting better, don't you think?"_

 _Shikamaru thought about it, turning his head to the sun as well, "He's home. That's improvement."_

 _Kanoko nodded and spoke quietly, "You know he was right. What he said, I mean. He didn't say it in the right way and that's something he's going to have to live with and make up to you, but the intent of the message was correct."_

 _Shikamaru frowned at his sister. Scowling at her slightly he mumbled, "Thanks. All we need is Kaa-san to jump on this Shikamaru-is-a-failure train and everything will be perfect."_

 _Kanoko scowled back at her brother, "Stop it with the self-pity. We both know you're too lazy to care."_

 _Shikamaru snapped his eyes back to his sister's annoyed orange ones, "Maybe things have changed."_

" _Things have changed." Kanoko confirmed with a slight nod, "But people don't change as rapidly, no matter how much they would like to."_

 _Shikamaru frowned, "Was I the only one born without the need to speak cryptically?"_

 _Kanoko smirked, "You just take after Kaa-san."_

" _And that's another thing!" Shikamaru told Kanoko with an annoyed look, "Why am I always Shikaku's son, Yoshino's mini me, or Kanoko's twin? Why am I not ever just Shikamaru?!"_

 _Kanoko blinked, a little shocked at her brother's anger all of a sudden, "If those are the only people you are being compared to, count your blessings. You should hear what some of the village_ _ **elders**_ _compare me to."_

 _Shikamaru stared back at Kanoko, looking like the shocked one this time, "Huh?"_

 _Kanoko smirked slightly, "You know, everyone keeps telling me you have this high IQ…"_

 _Shikamaru gave Kanoko a deadpan look, "Did you bring me out here just to insult me?"_

 _Kanoko sighed but gave Shikamaru a small humorous smile before continuing her point from before, "What I meant, before you interrupted me with your_ _ **feelings**_ _, is that Tou-san was right: You aren't like me and you need to stop fooling yourself."_

 _Shikamaru opened his mouth to argue when Kanoko cut him off, "And before you go and get offended, again, let me explain." Kanoko looked up at the Hokage's tower nearby, "I've been reckless, cocky, indignant, and disregarded everything my_ _ **elders**_ _have tried to warn me off. And look where it got me." Kanoko stood up and looked at Shikamaru, "I can't leave the village unless escorted or on a mission. I will only be given low priority missions and even then, I will likely have extra shinobi on my team because the powers to be no longer trust me and my ability to make decisions. Some of this is a result of poor luck, but much of it is due to mistakes on my part."_

 _Shikamaru listened to his sister before speaking, "What does this have to do with me?"_

" _I see you starting to make the same mistakes I've made and I don't want you to suffer the same fate." Kanoko explained._

 _Shikamaru tensed slightly, but kept his bored look on his face, "What do you mean?"_

 _Kanoko gave her brother a hard look, "You know what I mean." Kanoko sighed heavily as she crossed her arms, "I'm not going to rule over your life and protect you from every little danger this world has to offer. I'm your sister, not your keeper. It wouldn't be fair to either of us if I did that." Kanoko looked Shikamaru straight in the eyes, "But really think about your future. Do you really want to be just like me, an extraordinarily powerful kunoichi who will see more death than life, who will live through more tragedies than miracles? Or do you want to be your own person? Someone who I believe can make a difference without making all the same mistakes as his self-sacrificing sister?"_

 _Shikamaru gave Kanoko a shocked look which quickly turned into a grief stricken one, "Kanoko, you're not-"_

 _Kanoko cut her brother off, "No, you need to hear and understand this Shikamaru. I'm broken. I'm always going to be broken. I don't know how to live and love without bleeding. I'm going to do horrible things in the name of peace and prosperity. I'm going to murder woman and children, massacre entire villages, and slit the throats of anyone that stands in my way. All of it is going to slowly kill me until nothing is left, but even then, I will never stop. I won't stop until true peace is achieved." Kanoko paused to look back at the fading sun, "And I've lived long enough to know true peace is unachievable."_

 _Silence filled the air as broken leaves blew lightly between them._

" _You need another role model, Shikamaru." Kanoko told him softly, still looking at the horizon, "And I can only hope that you don't choose someone more deranged or broken than me."_

 _And like the wind blowing through, she was gone, leaving Shikamaru to his conflicting thoughts._

 _ **Flashback End**_

Shikamaru wasn't sure how he felt about the whole thing. He had conflicting thoughts and competing goals on the whole thing.

Leave it to his sister to interrupt his life just as he thought he had everything figured out, only to make him question all his goals and actions up to this point. He thought by getting stronger, learning more, gaining influence he would be in a better position, a few years from now, to be what he saw his sister as: A pillar of never ending support.

And then she went and shook the very image he had of her.

He had never seen her as someone who was broken. Socially inept? Definitely. Emotionally unstable? Never.

Though, he supposed even now, he'd say she was emotionally stable. After all, it takes a certain kind of person to analyze themselves with such cold logic before diagnosing themselves as a poor example of a human being.

Some of the other things his sister told or shown him over the years has started to make more sense, once given this piece of the puzzle – or the key, so to speak.

Her comment of not being able to find any peace in life.

His recent sleepless nights came to a forefront in his mind. He thinks about the first time Kanoko was mortally wounded and he was stuck across the country – unable to do anything. Or the time Naruto was facing off against Suna's tailed beast and Shikamaru was completely immobile in fear. Or the moment when he watched helplessly as Kanoko's head was bashed into the side of a cliff by their father, over and over again.

Her determination to keep those important to her at a distance – emotionally.

Shikamaru thinks about Chouji, who has asked Shikamaru several times when they would hang out - if they were going to **ever** hang out again. Or Ino and Asuma, who half praised him for his sudden interest in training, but voiced concern over his distant attitude as of late.

The way she half hazardly throws herself into perilous situations and only to barely come out alive.

Shikamaru knows he is pushing his luck by associating so closely to a man as suspicious as Rokumaru... To lower his guard when he is around... To listen to him as he teaches Shikamaru about the clan and their history... To willingly learn from a man that his own father won't speak about. Grandfather or not, the man is clearly bad news.

The way she lives her life: Training, learning, gaining influence - nothing more, nothing less.

Shikamaru's fist tightened as he frowned, ' _She was right. They were both right. I was trying to be just like her._ '

Shikamaru opened his fist and looked at the palm of his hand and laughed humorlessly, ' _Me? Wanting to be just like a girl? What has the world come to…_ '

The young Nara heir shook his head as he looked back up at the moon.

" _ **I won't stop until true peace is achieved." Kanoko paused to look back at the fading sun, "And I've lived long enough to know true peace is unachievable."**_

Shikamaru shut his eyes, " _If true peace is unachievable, then why even try? What is she_ _ **really**_ _trying to tell me?_ " Shikamaru sighed heavily before closing his eyes and catching a little bit of sleep before he makes his way back home.

"And what did she mean by 'I've lived long enough to know'…?" Shikamaru mumbled out sleepily before drifting off.

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Kanoko looked over Naruto with her arms crossed and an analyzing look on her face. Tapping her fingers on her arm in thought, she spoke, "Do you know why you win so many battles against shinobi whose skill level is higher than your own?"

It was another bright day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Kanoko had woken up early, dealt with Sasuke and his training before zipping around town and collecting her teammates. It had been some time since they were all in the village and able to train together.

Naruto looked up at his teammate with a curious look. He was doing sit ups as instructed for a warm up. Pausing in his movements, Naruto grinned widely at Kanoko and snickered, "Because I'm AWESOME! Believe it!"

Kanoko gave him a dull look, but dismissed his comment, "It is because you look like a ninja – albeit, a strange one – but fight like a brute."

Sakura turned from her chakra concentration exercise to stare at Kanoko in confusion, "Wouldn't that make him more likely to lose? I mean, they don't teach us to just put all our energy into one poorly aimed punch."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, "My aim is perfect!"

Sakura gave Naruto an angry look as she gritted her teeth, "Then how come you hit **me** when you were supposed to hit Kakashi-sensei? I was on **your team!** "

Naruto laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head, "Oh, well… Kakashi-sensei is a slippery bastard?"

Kanoko sighed at her teammates, "Continuing on…" The two stopped bickering to look at Kanoko, "most shinobi learn the proper shinobi fighting styles of their village. This, on face value, is important. It is important to choose movements that are quick, use the right amount of force, and the least likely to open yourself up to a counter attack."

Naruto nodded, still not following Kanoko, but nodding regardless.

The former Hokage continued, "However, many shinobi, typically younger or inexperienced ones, expect the same out of their fellow and enemy shinobi. After all, why would someone trained in the arts not use the most efficient form of fighting?"

Sakura smirked at Naruto with her arms crossed, "I could think of one idiot."

"Sakura-chaaaan! Why are you being mean?!" Naruto whined out.

"Children." Kanoko spoke firmly.

Sakura and Naruto looked up at Kanoko with a sheepish look.

Clearing her voice, Kanoko started up again, "As I was saying. Naruto, you tend to surprise your enemies with your powerful and brutish fighting style. Add in the Shadow Clone Jutsu and only more experience shinobi will be able to defeat you in battle."

Naruto jumped into the air, "Ha! I'm a badass! Take that, Duckbutt!"

"However." Kanoko interrupted Naruto's self-celebration, "You will be completely destroyed by higher caliber shinobi if you remain dependent on such a brutish fighting style. Surprising an enemy only works once, maybe twice. After that, you will have no hope in defending yourself or those depending on you."

Naruto deflated, making Sakura giggle lightly before turning to Kanoko and asking shyly, "You're not just talking about Naruto, are you?"

Kanoko shook her head with a small frown, "No… you also have the same problem. I know Tsunade, I mean the Hokage, has a similar, but destructive fighting style. While I believe her fighting style suits you and your natural abilities, I strongly worry you will fall into the same trap of being out-skilled in both speed and technique."

Naruto rubbed his chin, "Well, what do we do then?"

Kanoko smirked, "We need to find the two of you tutors."

Sakura grimaced and leaned back, away from Kanoko, "I don't like that look on your face…"

Kanoko's smirked grew, "You shouldn't."

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"KANOKO!" Sakura screamed at her _former_ friend and teammate.

Kanoko shrugged, "This is for your own good."

Gai walked up from behind Sakura with a twinkle in his grin and a thumbs up, "Don't you worry, student of my rival! Lee and I will teach you the ways of the green beast of Konoha!"

Lee shook in excitement before jumping up and shouting, "THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE!" He ran up to Sakura and grabbed her hands, "I will not stop, I will not rest, I will do whatever it takes to help you learn the great teachings of Gai-sensei! The greatest taijutsu master to ever live!"

Gai started to tear up at his student's words, "Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

Sakura stared Kanoko with a pale and dying look, "Please. PLEASE!"

Kanoko just crossed her arms and shook her head, "Sorry Sakura. I want you trained by the best and Kakashi-sensei isn't reliable enough."

"MY FAIR CHERRY BLOSSOM! Are you ready to run laps around the village with Gai-sensei and I?!" Lee shouted, running over to Sakura's side, "Since you're new, we'll only do fifty laps!" Lee finished with a large grin.

"F-f-fifty?!" Sakura squeaked out. She snapped her head back to Kanoko, "FIFTY?!"

Kanoko sighed, "You'll be fine Sakura. Tenten and Neji are still alive."

Sakura slowly turned her head to see Tenten sharpening her various sized kunai with a disturbing grin and then to the silent Neji who looked like he was trying to set everyone on fire with his gaze. Sakura sweat dropped, "They may be alive, but sane…?"

Kanoko shrugged and mumbled, "Says the girl that argues with the little voice in her head…"

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"So who's my trainer?" Naruto asked Kanoko jumping up and down in excitement while Kanoko continued walking, pushing large leaves out of her way as she moved.

They were walking through the thicker part of Konoha's woods, getting closer to the edge of the village's exterior border. Pushing passed some large leaves and branches, Naruto raced ahead towards a small beaten up cabin.

"Woah! What is this?!" Naruto ran up to it and started to investigate, "Looks old…"

Kanoko casually walked up to him with her arms crossed, "It is. It was built at the same time as the village."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised it's lasted so long… What do you think it was used for?"

"To get away from a certain happy go luck brother who's goal was to drive everyone within hearing distance insane with talk of puppy dogs and rainbows…" Kanoko mumbled underneath her breath.

"What did you say?" Naruto asked turning around.

Kanoko cleared her throat, "Who knows. Could be for anything." Kanoko walked over the front, "Come on."

Naruto blinked before giving Kanoko an unsure look, "You sure it's safe?"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow at Naruto, "When has **that** question ever crossed your mind?"

"Right now." Naruto responded with an annoyed look before dashing past Kanoko and into the small hut.

Naruto looked around the small room. The siding was rotting and the entire interior was covered in dirt, spider webs, and various weeds. "I can see why you didn't bring Sakura here…" Naruto commented, "Everything is rotted…"

Kanoko walked inside and closed the door, "Just give me a minute." Kanoko told Naruto, "It's a good thing you're on a team with Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and I. Patience is not your strong suit."

Naruto crossed his arms and gave his teammate an annoyed look.

Kanoko ignored him as she placed her hand on the wall near the door. Pushing chakra out, a seal activated beneath her palm.

Naruto jumped in shock as the room lit up in seals and transformed into a well maintained room with two cushions and a tea pot and stand nearby.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, looking around for the spider webs he saw earlier, "How'd you do that?!"

Kanoko turned from the seal and walked over to her tea set, preparing it while she spoke, "A mix between a genjutsu seal and a space displacement seal." Kanoko finished getting everything ready and was just waiting for the water to get hot, "I'll teach you when you have a lot more fuinjutsu knowledge and practical application under your belt. The formula is tricky…"

Kanoko motioned Naruto to take a seat on one of the cushions while she sat crossed legged on the other.

Naruto nodded and quickly potted his butt down. Taking another look around, he asked Kanoko, "So… Why are we out here? To show me the seal?" Kanoko had been teaching Naruto the basics in fuinjutsu. Nothing too crazy, but just the basic understanding of the art and the complexities involved in the different types of seals.

The Nara heiress shook her head, "No." Kanoko paused to find the right words, "I want to ask something of you, Naruto. This would be more than a favor and I would owe you greatly."

Naruto opened his mouth to tell Kanoko that it was no problem. She was like family and he's do anything, but he was interrupted before he could voice his thoughts.

"I want you to listen completely before you comment or make a decision." Kanoko told him with a serious look, "This is no simple favor. I will be asking a great deal of you and by assisting me, you could be potentially placing the people you care about in the crosshairs of some incredibly dangerous people."

The pot behind Kanoko started to screech, signaling that is was at boiling temperatures. She reached over and grabbed it, offering Naruto a cup which he shook his head at. Kanoko nodded and waited to pour her own cup before speaking, "This is your first opportunity to decline. If you do not want to take the risk, I will not continue. I will give you another opportunity to decline, but even telling you what I know will place you and those you care about in peril." Kanoko locked eyes with Naruto's deep blue ones, "Would you like me to continue, knowing and understanding these terms?"

Naruto was silent. He looked down at his hands before looking back up at Kanoko and nodding.

Kanoko exhaled gently as she filled up her tea cup. Looking back up at Naruto, she nodded, "Then I will start."

"The Nara family has always been one of the most inviting and friendly clans in Konoha. Shikamaru and I were introduced to many clan members from a young age. Some I remember clearly and others not as well. I do remember all my immediate family members though: My mother's parents – farmers on the edge of the Land of Fire – and my mother's brother and his kind wife – both civilians and traveling merchants. Who I did not recall were my father's own parents. I wondered if they had perished in one of the many wars Konoha has suffered through. Curious, I started to research my father's family tree."

Kanoko paused with a frown at her tea, "Apparently that was all that was needed to encourage my paternal grandfather to contact me."

"With a cleverly coded message left in a suspicious location, I set off to meet the man that would contact me in this manner. We met in a small restaurant in the middle of Konoha's shopping district. I was very young at the time. I had not developed my chakra pathways yet. I was vulnerable… and foolish for going in such a state. Sitting down across from the man who would later introduce himself as my grandfather, I immediately regretted the decision. I knew this man was nothing, but pure evil."

Kanoko took a sip of her tea before continuing, "I stayed regardless. You do not turn your back to an animal ready to snap, no matter how outclassed you are. He proceeded to ask me about my goals, my training, my family…" Kanoko stopped talking for a moment, "I had little to share. I was still very young. I tried to act my age by pretending to like dolls and dressing up – all things girls my age would rave about. He quickly cut through my nonsense. He told me that he had been watching me… and Shikamaru… He told me that he saw great potential in me – the kind that has only ever been seen once before. He said that Shikamaru was the same and that together…"

The former Hokage closed her eyes as her grip on the tea cup tightened, "I immediately disagreed. The way he was talking… The manner in which he spoke… I knew he wanted more than just clan recognition. I was **not** going to be used or allow my family to be used in a plot to gain power over any other clan… Or over the village. At that point, I knew I had no choice. It didn't help that I was besot with anger at that point as well. Using the waiter as a distraction, I raced out of the restaurant. The man was quick to follow, if only a step behind, and grabbed me while in the alley way behind the restaurant. We argued over predetermined roles and responsibilities – how I understood I would be nothing more than the daughter of Shikaku or the sister of Shikamaru in my clan's eyes. I proceeded to inform him while I understood my limits, I would never do as he wishes. That I would never break. That my loyalty to this village was strong and true."

Kanoko grabbed the teapot and poured herself another cup full before taking a long sip, "I had hoped that would be the last I saw that man. I knew better though." Kanoko exhaled heavily, "I fought against him on several occasion over the years to follow – keeping him an arm's distance away from those close to me. Each time, however, I barely survived and only by foolish luck did I keep him away for as long as I did."

"The last straw…" Kanoko started before lifting her eyes to Naruto's, "Was one week ago, when you informed me that Shikamaru was training in secret."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask a question, but Kanoko held up her hand, "There was only one reason why Shikamaru would need to keep clan training secret from me and it had to do with our grandfather, Rokumaru."

The cup in Kanoko's hand cracked in half, spilling the small amount of tea left inside to drip down her hand, "I was fortunate that Kakashi-sensei arrived when he did…"

The room went silent as Kanoko stopped speaking and stared at the shattered tea cup in her hand.

Naruto waited a couple more minutes before speaking tentatively, "Ok, so you have a scary, evil old man after you and Shikamaru – not cool – and his goal is to gain enough power to overthrow the village?" Naruto shook his head, "No way old lady Tsunade lets that happen! You've seen how hard she hits, right?!"

Kanoko shook her head, "This plot involves more than just Rokumaru. Members of my own clan are supporting him in his goals…" Kanoko started gritted her teeth in anger, ' _I wonder if this is how that Uchiha felt before murdering his own clan…_ '

Naruto nodded, "Ok, so a bunch of old guys. That still doesn't match up to the power of the Hidden Leaf."

"You're right." Kanoko told Naruto, "Which is why I am terrified. Rokumaru is no spring chicken. He would have to know… they would all have to know that the Nara clan alone would be unable to overpower an entire village."

Naruto scrunched his face in thought before another thought occurred to him, "Wait. What were you going to ask me?"

Kanoko nodded, calming down and setting the remains of the tea cup to the side, "You have been asked by Jiraiya the sannin to travel the Land of Fire for nearly three years."

Naruto nodded with a surprised look, "Yeah! How'd you know? That just happened…" Naruto asked before mumbling, "I turned him down though…"

Kanoko nodded again, "I know. I am asking you three things." Naruto nodded, signally Kanoko to continue, "First, I would like you to accept Jiraiya's offer and travel the Land of Fire with him, learning his trade. Second, I ask you to convince Shikamaru to come with you and Jiraiya on your journey. Jiraiya has already agreed, but convincing Shikamaru could be tricky." Kanoko looked at Naruto with a serious look, "Under **no** circumstance are you to inform Shikamaru that I have asked this of you or of any part of this conversation. Shikamaru has a very large heart, much like your own, and will do anything, including sacrificing himself to help me out of the hole I've dug for myself."

Naruto crossed his arms and tossed the idea in his head, "Pervy-sage isn't the most reliable… Are you sure you want to put all your eggs into **that** basket case?"

Kanoko smirked slightly at Naruto's remark, "I won't be hedging my bets on Jiraiya." Kanoko locked her orange eyes with Naruto's ocean blue ones, "I'll be placing them on you."

Naruto blinked in shock at his teammate's words.

"Which brings me to my last request." Kanoko started, "Above all other requests I could ever ask of you, I ask that you fulfil this one, if nothing else." Kanoko paused before speaking in a clear and deep voice, "Teach my brother what I am incapable of teaching."

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"Hope, kindness, mercy, sincerity, happiness. All the things that makes Uzumaki Naruto the man that I will one day call my Hokage."

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Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha with a dazed look. His mind was still caught up in everything Kanoko told him. Even with everything she said, he felt like she was still holding back a lot. Naruto wasn't even sure he wanted to know at this point. If Kanoko was holding that much back, dealing with it on her own, all this time, he suddenly understood why she always had the sour look on her face.

Naruto crossed his arms and stopped in the middle of the road, ' _And I thought the whole "I have a fuzzy in my stomach" was stressful…_ ' Naruto started walking again, looking around at the various shops, ' _And then there's the whole "two and a half year journey with Jiraiya"… The old man did teach me a really awesome jutsu… And Kanoko probably won't want to teach me anything cool if I don't convince Shikamaru to leave the village…_ '

Naruto cursed out loud, "Why me?!" Stomping over to his favorite ramen stand, he opened his mouth to shout his usual order of ramen when stopped suddenly and he blinked – surprised to see his favorite sensei sitting at the bar.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted in joy, jumping on the seat next to his old instructor.

"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei greeted back with a large grin, "It's been a while! How are you?"

Naruto grinned, "I'm doing well…" Naruto looked up at the owner, Teuchi, and ordered his usual dish before turning to Iruka, "Actually… I'm running into a bit of a problem that I'm not sure what to do about it…"

Iruka blinked. It was rare to find Naruto this vulnerable, "Well, I know I'm just your old instructor, but maybe I can help!" Iruka responding, wanting to cheer up his favorite student.

Naruto thought about it for a moment before answering, "Well… I promised a friend I wouldn't say anything."

Iruka-sensei nodded, "And I'm glad to see you keeping your word. Maybe you can tell me the decision you are trying to make without telling me about the situation?"

Naruto tilted his head back in forth with his eyes closed, "Well… they asked me three things. The first was to go on a journey outside the village for two and a half years with pervy sage. The second was to convince a friend to do the same, and the last was to… I'm not sure… teach them to be like me?"

Iruka stared at Naruto in wonder, "Wow. That's quite the request." Iruka thought about the first one, "Jiraiya the sannin huh? He is quite the famous ninja. You could learn a great deal from him…"

Naruto nodded with a scowl on his face, "If he doesn't ditch me to scout out pretty women in their undies."

Iruka choked on the water he started drinking.

Naruto continued, not taking notice to his sensei's behavior, "But he did teach me some really cool jutsu before and he did train the Fourth Hokage…"

Iruka cleared his throat and asked, "Then what's the problem? Besides the whole… other thing…"

The blonde pouted, "I guess I just wonder how much more he's going to keep from me…" Naruto looked away before turning to Iruka with a serious look, "How come no one ever told me about my clan? That I have a clan… or had…"

Iruka scratched the back of his head, "Well… until you told me, I didn't really make the connection. So much from the Uzumaki clan was lost and they are only mentioned briefly in the history books."

Naruto nodded sadly, "But they were experts in seals. Pervy-sage should have known!"

Iruka nodded, "Well… how much time have you spent with him? Maybe he was getting around to it?"

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed, "Not likely…"

Iruka looked over at Naruto, "Then I take it you're not going, which makes the other two requests no longer valid right?"

Naruto blinked, " _I hadn't thought about it like that…_ " Teuchi placed Naruto's bowl of ramen in front of him. For once, Naruto didn't dig in automatically.

Iruka stared at his former student in wonder. Thinking for a moment, Iruka asked Naruto a question, "This person you are being asked to bring along… they're your age right? So that would mean… It would by the two of you against Jiraiya, right? And you would have someone to talk with and train with while Jiraiya is out doing his… Acts of inappropriate behavior…" Iruka finished with a frown, suddenly not sure if Jiraiya was a good role model for Naruto.

Naruto's head snapped up towards Iruka with his mouth open in wonder. Naruto blinked several times, " _That's right! Shikamaru is lazy, but he would side with me 100% of the time against pervy sage! He knows exactly the kind of torture I put Kanoko through and would do anything to avoid it… Hehehehe…_ " Naruto grinned wickedly at Iruka-sensei, "You are a genius, Iruka-sensei!"

Naruto picked up his bowl and gulped the whole thing down. With a sound of contentment, Naruto placed the bowl down on the counter before swiveling around and running off with a grin.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei! You're the best!"

Iruka smiled as he watched Naruto run away with a cheery expression.

"Here's the bill, Iruka-san."

Iruka blinked before turning around and reading the bill.

"NARUTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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Kanoko pulled back the thin covers of her bed and moved to sit up with her legs hanging off the side of the bed. She looked out of the window of her room to gaze at the brightness of the room. She stared off into space for a few moments, completely caught in her thoughts about everything that has happened.

Kanoko turned her head to look over her shoulder. Sprawled out behind her with one arm over his head and the other resting on his stomach was her brother, Shikamaru, sleeping soundly. It was the middle of summer and even the nights in Konoha were hot. She could feel the sweat dripping down her neck and pool at the small of her back. The continued growth of her _**upper section**_ was making Kanoko overly self-conscious and so she was layered in a couple t-shirts and sweatpants.

After all, she remembered what it was like to be a young boy going through puberty.

Kanoko glared at her brother's peaceful form, ' _At least there is one bright side to all of this. I'll finally get my bed to myself._ '

Exhaling, Kanoko turned back to the window and carefully got out of bed.

Kanoko opened the window and quietly pulled herself out so she could climb the side. After walking up the side of the house with easy, she turned and sat down on the slanted roof. Kanoko stared up at the moon in thought, ' _Is this really a good idea? Do I really trust this "sannin" enough to keep my brother safe? I know I told Naruto I was putting my trust in him, but someone still has to keep those two safe…_ '

The former Hokage sighed heavily while rubbing her face with the palm of her hand, ' _What other choice do I have?_ '

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"Why are you so troublesome…" A boy's voice whined out.

Kanoko lifted her head slightly from her palm to raise an eyebrow at her brother. He walked up next to her before plopping roughly on the shingled roof. Shikamaru extended his legs and laid back, folding his hands behind his head. Staring up at the moon with a tired look, Shikamaru sighed, "So you going to tell me what been going on with you lately?"

Kanoko stared straight ahead with an unreadable expression.

Shikamaru sighed again with a dull look. With a grunt, he pulled himself up to sit upright before resting his chin on his hand. Shikamaru looked up at the shaded clouds as the passed over the moon slowly.

Kanoko shifted her eyes slightly to look at her brother from the corner of her eye, ' _I can only hope my words from before had some sort of effect. Shikamaru's smart. He has to know that he's taking a large risk by associating with Rokumaru. The man is not subtle. I can only think of three reasons why Shikamaru would willingly contact him: Shikamaru is giving Rokumaru the benefit of the doubt because he is family; He's being forced by Rokumaru in some way; Or Shikamaru has justified his training and association with Rokumaru as a way of learning more or placing himself in a position of influence in order to protect those close to him._ '

The young female Nara stared down at the dark shingles between her feet, ' _Shikamaru has a big heart, but he reserves that for the people he cares about. Not strangers that put him on edge._ ' Kanoko's fists tightened, turning her knuckles white, ' _Succumbing_ _to blackmail or self-sacrificing himself are both things Shikamaru is prone to do if pushed. And he's getting to that age where he is no longer coming to me with his worries…_ '

Kanoko's nails dug into her palm, making it bleed, ' _Not that I could do anything about it…_ '

Kanoko was jolted out of her thoughts when a hand covered her own. Kanoko snapped her eyes up to see her brother eyes staring seriously into her own.

"I wish you would talk to me." Shikamaru told her in a quiet voice. His eyes shifted down to his hand that lay on his sister's, "It's like… everyday you close yourself off more and more. I know I should be used to it by now or have known it will always be like this… but…"

Shikamaru turned his head away and frowned. He snapped his head back and locked his eyes with Kanoko's again, "I watch you carefully pick Sakura up when she falls down before gently pushing her forward. I watch you patiently work with Naruto on his basic ninja skills while spending hours writing scrolls for him to read about his clan." Shikamaru's eyes shifted passed Kanoko, "If it was just them… I would understand. Chouji and Ino are important to me, even if one is more trouble than she's worth most days."

Shikamaru sighed heavily at the thought before turning serious again and looking at his sister, "But then I watched you do the same with Sasuke. Questioning him on his thoughts and ideas, challenging him to be better without sacrificing the bonds he's built. Holding yourself up to be an example for him to follow." Shikamaru's hand tightened around his sister's, "And it doesn't matter who approaches you. Ino, Kiba, Shino… If they need help, or guidance, or just someone to pick them up when they fall, you'll help – even if not everyone recognizes the way in which you help."

Shikamaru's eyes softened, "And that's what I don't understand." He used the hand over his sister's to pick hers up and grasp it tight, "Why do you continue to push me away, closing off all your feelings around me, only to slowly open up to everyone else?"

Kanoko looked down at her captured hand with dull eyes. She moved her fingers slightly while staring blankly. Slowly she started moving the pads of her long fingers against the top of her brother's hand. A brisk, but gentle breeze drifted past the siblings, making Kanoko's long hair tickle her face as it blew around gently.

Closing her eyes and exhaling, Kanoko pulled her hand away and pushed herself up to her feet.

Shikamaru looked up at her with a tired frown, but was unsurprised her actions – even if it did disappoint him.

Kanoko stared up at the moon in silence, her face facing away from her brother.

Shikamaru sighed heavily before turning his head and slowly moving to go back to bed. He was just about to get up when he heard his sister speak in a deep voice.

"If Sakura is killed in battle, I will mourn her loss and blame myself for not spending more time training with her. If Sasuke perishes while trying to restore his clan's honor and name, I will wonder if there was not another path I could have shown him. If Naruto dies protecting the village with every ounce of the greatness he possesses, I will honor him in every way and in everyday, but will always regret being unable to support him – to give him strength in war and give him wisdom in peace."

Shikamaru eyes traveled from his sister's tensing shoulders to her tightening fists.

Kanoko took a large breath, her diaphragm shaking slightly as she did so.

"If I lose any or all of them, I can go on. I'll know how to go on." Her voice evened out, "Because I still have a purpose. I still have a goal. I still have something to protect."

Shikamaru nodded as if the answer as obvious, "The village…"

The wind picked up again and blew Kanoko's hair behind her, "I will always defend the village with everything I have. Even with all its flaws, Konoha will always be the actualization of a dream once thought impossible. Its beauty is not defined by its wonderful vegetation or its clean, glittery streets, but by the hearts of the people that reside within." Kanoko's voice dropped, "I love this village and I will always love this village. It is my home. It is where I was born and it is where I'll be buried."

Kanoko looked down at her brother, the large moon behind her framing her face, "But even a Hokage needs more than just a village to protect. Even a Hokage has those that touch his heart and give him the strength to fight _**one more time**_."

Kanoko's eyes softened as they locked onto her brother's, "Tou-san recently told me what it was like, holding the two of us for the first time and what the moment meant to him. It gave him both purpose and fear. Fear he wasn't good enough, fear he wouldn't be strong enough, fear for what he would become if one of us…" Kanoko shook her head and looked out over the area in front of their house, "He tried several times to explain to me what that moment meant to him, but in the end, he didn't even need to explain it."

Silence filled the air, causing Shikamaru to frown and ask, "Why?"

Kanoko closed her eyes to feel the cold breeze blow against her face before answering, "Because I experienced that same feeling the first time you latched onto me as a baby and didn't let go." Kanoko smirked while keeping her eyes shut, "I remember rolling several times around that blasted crib in an attempt to get away, but you were persistent – something no one would associate with you now. After a while, I finally gave up – completely exhausted. Staring at your ugly mug as you latched on like a leech, it occurred to me…"

Shikamaru leaned forward, anxious to hear what his sister would say. After a couple seconds he spoke, "And…?"

Kanoko shrugged with a smirk, "Nothing. I was a baby, what did you expect me to think?"

Shikamaru huffed in annoyance before grumbling, "Troublesome woman…"

Kanoko continued to smirk lightly as she moved to the edge of the roof. Taking one last look at the moon above she spoke quietly, "Sakura and Naruto are my teammates. Sasuke, Shino, Ino, Kiba, Hinata… all of them are my former classmates and friends... Lee, Neji, and Tenten are my comrades. But you, Shikamaru… You are something different entirely."

.

Kanoko smiled sincerely with soft eyes, "You are my brother… my twin… and you will always mean the most to me."

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And with that, Kanoko hopped off the roof.

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Shikamaru stared wide eyed at the spot that once held his sister. A dusting of pink grew on his cheeks before he grumbled, "Troublesome woman…" He turned his head up towards the moon and started to smile lazily, ' _Leave it to my sister to take twelve years to tell me she cares._ '

Shikamaru suddenly frowned, ' _Right when I might leave…_ '

Naruto had raced up to him a couple hours earlier, asking, no, **begging** him to join him and Jiraiya on a journey through the Land of Fire.

Had Naruto asked him a couple days before, Shikamaru's immediate answer would have been no. **In caps**. He had a family here he loved, teammates that relayed on him – who he cared for deeply, and a sister that was determined to drive him insane…

But after what Kanoko told him a few nights ago, Shikamaru was reconsidering everything in a new light. He's teammates were still genin, but they were training hard with their parents and peers to better themselves. He hadn't been spending much time with them anyways – something that he blamed himself for.

His family would always be here for him and it was only two and a half years… Two and a half years of no nagging… That thought alone was almost enough to convince Shikamaru.

And then there was the secret training he had started with his grandfather. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Even as he shook the man's hand, he regretted the decision. Something in his gut was telling him to run and he wished he had listened.

But if he goes on the journey, he'll be out of the man's sights and reach.

Hopefully.

At the very least, he wouldn't be able to get near while Jiraiya was around. Shikamaru had a feeling his grandfather was not well liked…

Naruto had even added that he would convince Jiraiya to train Shikamaru as well. Shikamaru believed the blond knucklehead. There were very few people Naruto couldn't convince, given time – and he would have two and half years to do so if denied outright.

Being trained by a sannin…

Shikamaru was sure to come back stronger than when he left, and he heard Jiraiya was master sealer. Kanoko had taught him the basics and Shikamaru could now create small storage seals. With that knowledge, Shikamaru believed he would be the perfect student to learn some of Jiraiya's more advanced sealing jutsus.

Now that Shikamaru was really thinking about all of it, there was really no downside of going on the journey. Shikamaru didn't even classify Naruto and his constant hyperness as a factor.

He had **Yamanaka Ino** as a teammate.

The only thing holding Shikamaru back at this point was the one thing always made him reconsidered anything he did.

His sister, Kanoko.

He always worried about his sister. He always knew there was something more to her, something that could break her if it ever came to light. She claimed she was already broken, but how does a twelve year old even know what broken looks like? How can she believe such depressing things about herself? Their family has had its ups and downs, but never anything horrible – excluding recent events.

That's probably what worried him the most.

If he wasn't here to be her pillar of strength when she finally collapsed, who would?

Shikamaru frowned at himself, " _In my current state, what good would I be for her?_ " Being physically stronger than any other ninja, having lots of influence in the village, or having the greatest intelligence in the Land of Fire wasn't going to help his sister.

No…

She made that clear already.

She said she would be the most powerful shinobi in the Land of Fire, but she would always remain broken…

She didn't need strength. She had that in so many different ways.

She didn't need influence. Her name was already well known – although not for the best of reasons.

She didn't need intelligence. He wasn't even going to address that topic.

What she needed was something she didn't think she had…

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Light.

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She needed someone to light the way.

Kanoko was more like the shadow their clan relied on in battle. The brighter the light, the strong she would get, the darker the night, the chances of her fading into the darkness grew.

She needed light to survive.

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Naruto was the only person he ever saw her truly open up to. He was always the one challenging her to think differently, to act differently, to care more, to believe more...

And he was leaving.

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Naruto told him that he Kanoko had already turned him down, stating that she had made a promise to Sasuke and that she would not go back on her word.

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Shikamaru pushed himself up onto his feet, staring intently at the moon.

He had made his decision.

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If Kanoko wasn't going to save herself from the darkness she was drowning in…

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 **He'd make sure Naruto was strong enough to dive in and pull her out.**

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Miles from Konoha, on top of a cliff overseeing an expansive forest stood a tall figure clothed in a dark robe. The figure turned to face the edge of the cliff, the wind blowing harshly against the man. His deep black hair whipped around his face as he lifted an arm up into the air.

Several black birds of various sizes glided around him, batting their wings back and forth harshly against the viscous wind. The wind blew an even bigger gust of air, forcing the birds to scatter.

All but one.

One crow, black as night with feathers slicker than any other bird, glided gracefully through the air before resting on the man's extended arm. The bird cocked its head to stare into the man's blood red eyes with its own blank eye filled with only black.

The man lowered his arm slightly and regarded the black bird coolly, "I am surprised to see you in such a form."

 _ **You are not the only one.**_

The crimson eyed man raised an eyebrow, indicating he was interested in details.

The crow puffed out the feathers on its chest.

 _ **My current state is unimportant, and do not act like you even care.**_

The man shrugged slightly, continuing to stare at the bird with dull eyes.

The crow walked up the man's arm before jumping off and landing on the ground with a slight hop in its step. Taking a few steps forward, the crow looked back at the expressionless man.

 _ **Did you bring me what I asked?**_

The young man did not respond before slowly lifting his eyes. From behind the thick trees walked a young girl, sixteen or so. She had a dazed look in her eyes, as if she had been drugged. The auburn haired girl continued to limp forward before suddenly stopping before the man and the small bird.

The black crow looked up and down before nodding. The bird turned back to the man.

 _ **Then we have a deal?**_

The man stared down at the black bird with another dull and empty look, "It depends on what information you have."

The crow ruffled its feathers.

 _ **Why do you care so much about this child's well-being? Did you not murder his entire family?**_

The man did not respond, but the chill in the air was all the small bird needed to know.

 _ **Then let me tell you what I know with an added piece of information. Let's call it… a down payment.**_

The dark robed man did not remove his gaze. Silence drifted between the two for several minutes before the man's blood red eyes drifted up to the teenage. His eyes spun just before the girl fell to the ground, completely passed out.

"If I do not find your information of value, you will not get far… and I will not allow you to escape through an animal as you did with your previous killer." The man spoke in a deep and even voice.

The crow looked to the teenager's body and then back to the man before the crow's body dropped to the ground.

Dead.

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The young girl with auburn hair stirred slowly. Moving her limbs around clumsily, she spoke in a high but melodic tone, "It took me weeks to get used to having wings and talons… I didn't realize the transition back would be just as… uncomfortable."

The man did not care. Staring down at the girl, his gaze hardened.

The girl smirked, "Impatience. An Uchiha trait for sure." Slowly standing the teenage girl place a hand on her hip and gave the man before her a slight smirk, "As you suspected, Orochimaru has set his sights on your little brother. He means to take your brother's body from him and implant his, Orochimaru's, own soul into what he sees as the perfect body." The girl paused, "Lucky for you, the seal he placed on your little brother was removed by a clever little Nara."

The Uchiha processed the information given to him. Outside, he looked cool and calm – as if he was without emotions. Inside… he was boiling.

The young woman folded her arms over her chest and smirked, "As a reward to acquiring such a suitable body for me, allow me to provide you one more piece of information."

The Uchiha stared blankly at the girl, indicating with his silence that she continue.

"This little girl… the Nara that saved your brother… I would keep an eye on her." The teenager's smirk grew before turning and starting to walk away, swaying her hips as she moved, "She's no regular girl. Inside of her body lives the soul of a man who was said to be a master of the water element, creator of a thousand jutsus, and has even brought the dead to life again…"

.

"But most of all…"

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"This man **despised** the Uchiha…"

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"Hated them more than any enemy…"

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"More than any criminal…"

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"And single handedly set the Uchiha clan on a path that could only lead them to destruction."

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"Inside this little girl… Nara Kanoko…"

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"Is the soul of Senju Tobirama."

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 **Below are extras that I made while trying to write this chapter. They play into a mysterious time after the last chapter and before this one.**

 **.**

 **Extra 1) The Real Reason the Flying Thunder god Jutsu was Created**

"Remind me again." Sasuke spoke in his normal cool tone, "Why we are running around the border between the Land of Fire and the area belonging to the Hidden Rain Village while your brother, his team, your team, my team, and that weird green thing and his team all assist the Sand Village on a rescue mission."

"That many people on one simple rescue mission and you're wondering why **you're** not there?" Kanoko snorted, "Uchihas…"

The young Nara heiress and Uchiha sole survivor were currently dashing through the thick, damp trees located on the west end of the Land of Fire. Apparently the rumors of it always raining in the Ninja Village Hidden in the Rain were true, and its weather extended into a section of the Land of Fire.

The section Sasuke was currently traveling through.

Sasuke _**hated**_ being wet.

Kanoko turned her head back and forth to view the area around her before answering Sasuke's question in a voice void of emotion, "Almost a month ago now, Shikamaru's team was assigned a mission in the Land of Tea."

Sasuke nodded, growing more annoyed, "Yeah, the whole village knows about it. People were shocked to hear that Ibiki had a brother."

Kanoko shrugged, "The way people talk about Ibiki, you'd think he was made artificially in a lab or something." Kanoko turned her head to the right and motioned Sasuke to follow her as she turned sharply, "Anyways, Shikamaru told me that there was a shinobi who wielded a blade made purely of lightning chakra."

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, "A jutsu?"

"No." Kanoko told him with a frown, "The hilt of the sword was created by combining conductive materials with a complex series of seals. Lightning chakra was then poured into the storage part of the seal over time. Now, only a small amount of chakra is needed to activate the seals in the hilt." Kanoko paused before continuing, "It is called the Blade of the Thunder Spirit – a sword the Second Hokage once wielded."

"And that's why we are running around in the rain, getting soaked to the bone, in probably the most dangerous part of the Land of Fire." Sasuke stared at the back of Kanoko's head in wonder, "Your brother and his team didn't retrieve this sword when they defeated the ninja?"

"When this shinobi saw Asuma with them, he fled in order to avoid a fight with the Third Hokage's son and a former member of the Guardian Twelve." Kanoko answered plainly, "And it's not the most dangerous part. The northern area closest to the Land of Lightning is the most dangerous… For any Cloud nin I run into."

"And you keep saying no one hold a grudge like an Uchiha…" Sasuke mumbled before asking, "And you plan on confronting this Rain shinobi?" Sasuke paused, "Wait, wasn't this ninja a jounin of the Leaf?"

Kanoko smirked, "Is that fear I hear in your voice, Uchiha?"

Sasuke scowled at Kanoko before chastising her, "Aren't you the one always preaching about using your brain and not doing anything stupid?" Sasuke picked up his pace so that he was next to Kanoko, "We are on the border of one of the most unstable and violent ninja villages, the ninjas from which would love nothing more than to slowly murder a couple Leaf genin."

Kanoko smirked, "One of us is a chunin."

Sasuke glared.

"And normally I would agree with you." Kanoko continued, ignoring Sasuke's angry look, "But a sword of that power cannot remain in the hands of an enemy." The former Hokage scanned the area again while thinking, ' _I will not allow weapons of my own creation be used against my people. I have enough blood on my hands as it is._ '

"Ok, but why now?" Sasuke asked, "Like you said, this ninja was last seen nearly a month ago. Why now and not any time in the last three weeks?"

Kanoko frowned, "Not counting the fact that I wasn't allowed to leave the village? I was waiting for information on this Rokushou Aoi and his whereabouts." Kanoko paused to look at Sasuke with a raised eyebrow, "A recent intelligence report indicated that he was last seen leaving the Hidden Frost Village and since I can't go to the northern border…"

"We're prancing through the dirt and rain, like a homeless mutt, looking for a jounin from the Hidden Leaf, who now works for the Village Hidden in the Rain and may or may not have a small army of equally crazy but highly trained assassins with him." Sasuke finished for Kanoko, "While we're on the topic of painful ways to die by sheer idiocracy..."

Kanoko shot Sasuke an irritated look, "You know they say about an Uchiha with a sense of humor?"

Sasuke just shrugged with a cocky smirk on his face, "See? Even you agree that it's so stupid that it's funny."

Kanoko's eye twitched in annoyance. She opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when she felt a chakra signature come into range. Nodding to Sasuke and pointing to a spot above, the two took cover.

.

"Buffoons! All three of you!" Rokushou Aoi shouted as he stomped through the tall wet grass, "You had one job! One job! Keep an eye out while I acquired the forbidden scroll from our contact!"

Three young Rain shinobi, dressed in a tan one piece with a gas mask on their faces, drug their feet as they followed after their team leader. Two of them hung their heads and flinching each time Aoi turned around to yell at them, while the third just crossed his arms and looked away.

"And now we're coming back empty handed!" Aoi continued before stopping suddenly. He spun around on his heel and glared at the three of them, "I am **not** taking the fall for this! You got that?!"

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Kanoko focused her senses on the four Rain shinobi, ' _Genin…_ ' Kanoko was interrupted from her thoughts when she caught Sasuke signaling to her.

 _ **My team faced those genin in the chunin exams.**_

Kanoko raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's message. She turned her eyes back down to the Rain shinobi before smirking.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, ' _I don't like that look…_ '

Before Sasuke knew what happened he was grabbed by the back of his shirt and thrown down at the Rain ninja. The shocked Uchiha was able to recover and land smoothly on his feet just behind them. All four Rain shinobi blinked at him before one of the genin pointed at him and shouted, "It's that jerk from the Chunin Exams!"

"You're right!" Another shouted, "I say we teach him a lesson! It's him against the four of us!"

Sasuke scoffed, but didn't move. He just continued to hold his position – ready to strike if one of them made a move.

"Wait!" Aoi barked out while pushing passed the Rain genin. Glaring down at Sasuke with a suspicious look, he spoke, "What is a Leaf kid like yourself doing so far from home?" Aoi's eyes scanned over Sasuke's features, "Wait… you're that Uchiha kid. The last of your kind."

Sasuke tensed while growling lowly at the man's statement, "What of it?"

Aoi's eyes snapped around the area before speaking to his team, "Search the area! There's no way the Leaf would let its precious last Uchiha out of its sights without at least a jounin looking over him."

The Rain genin looked reluctant but followed their leader's orders when Aoi activated the Blade of the Thunder Spirit. They took off into the trees while Aoi stared down at Sasuke, unimpressed.

"I'll ask you again. Why are you out here, so close to the Rain's border?" Aoi asked.

Sasuke didn't respond. He just frowned as his eyes locked onto the lightning sword, ' _The blade Kanoko was talking about…_ '

Aoi smirked when he realized what Sasuke was looking at. Lifting the sword up, Aoi spoke, "Impressive isn't it? Powerful too. It can slice through anything, even chakra." Aoi smirked grew, "Want me to show you?"

Sasuke's eyes snapped back to Aoi with a glare before suddenly smirking.

Aoi's eyes narrowed, "You're more messed up in the head than everyone thinks. Laughing at your own death…"

Sasuke just snorted humorously, "I am more messed up then everyone thinks, but I'm not laughing at my death." Sasuke paused, "I'm laughing at yours."

Aoi frowned before his eyes widened.

He couldn't move.

Aoi heart started beating rapidly as he tensed his muscles desperately, "What the hell did you do to me?!"

Sasuke simply crossed his arms and pointed at Aoi's feet with a smirk.

Aoi's eyes traveled down.

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Aoi cursed out loud in panic, "You little shit! Fucking Nara! Show your face!"

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"What's the point? You're dead either way." Kanoko answered tonelessly.

Aoi's eyes widened in panic, "Wait-"

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*SNAP*

The black tendrils recoiled back to their own as the large body fell to the ground with a thud.

Sasuke approached the dead Rain nin while watching it closely – waiting for it to jump up and attack him. When he was half a foot away, Sasuke nudged him gently with his foot. When nothing happened, Sasuke frowned, " **He** was a jounin of the Leaf?" Sasuke shook his head, "The standards must be low…"

Kanoko scoffed as she walked up to Sasuke, "He got complacent." Kanoko squatted down and picked up the Blade of the Thunder Spirit's hilt, "He thought he was invincible with the sword of the Second Hokage and lapsed in his training."

The Nara placed the ninja tool in her pack and looked at the Rain nin's body once more, ' _Although, I do agree with Sasuke. This man should have never been made jounin. He was a chunin at best. A jounin would have been able to sense me so close, especially when I started using my shadow possession jutsu_.' Kanoko sighed internally, ' _Another issue I will have to fix… Jounin selection._ '

Kanoko stood up and turned her head to Sasuke. She raised an eyebrow at the scalding look Sasuke was sending her way, "What is it now?" Kanoko finished with a small sigh.

Sasuke's onyx eyes narrowed further, "I'm not the dobe. The next time you throw me as a means for distraction-"

"Yes, yes. I'll take your feelings into account next time." Kanoko interrupted. "You Uchihas and your feelings…" Kanoko mumbled out before leaping into the trees and taking off into the direction of the Leaf Village.

Sasuke grumbled with his arms crossed before leaping in the trees and following Kanoko with an annoyed look. Catching up to her, he turned his head and smirked, "Just for that, I'm telling Shikamaru about your, self-assigned, side mission." And with that, Sasuke sped ahead.

Kanoko stared ahead with an open mouth look of shock and betrayal before growling angrily and shouting, "You whining little brat! Get back here!"

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 _ **Several Hours Later and Back in Konoha**_

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Shikamaru frowned as he dark eyes shifted down the street. He stilled for a moment longer before glaring at air and turning to the ramen stand. Pushing the curtains out of the way, he looked at Naruto and the staff at Ichiraku's Ramen. With a mix of annoyance and anger seeping out of him, he asked Naruto, "Have you seen Kanoko?"

Naruto shook his head aggressively while sweating slightly at Shikamaru dark look.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes on Naruto for a few moments before turning to the ramen stand staff, "Have you seen a girl with dark brown hair and orange eyes? About my height? Is prone to acting without taking any consideration for anyone else's feelings?"

Teuchi and Ayame shook their heads quickly.

Shikamaru looked between the three of them suspiciously before turning back to Naruto, "If I find out you are covering for my _**little**_ sister…" Shikamaru took out the lighter he stole from Asuma and flipped it open, a small flame flickering from it.

"Ahhh!" Naruto screamed, holding onto the bar of his favorite ramen stand, "What the hell is with you Naras and lighting things on fire?!"

Shikamaru simply snapped the cap back on the lighter and stared darkly at Naruto before dashing away to look somewhere else for his _**darling little sister**_.

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Kanoko popped her head up from behind the counter. Looking back and forth with a small amount of paranoia – even though she could sense her brother was long gone – she finally stood all the way up and relaxed.

Naruto gave Kanoko a panicked look, "What the **hell** did you _**DO?!**_ "

Kanoko scoffed as she crossed her arms and mumbled, "More like, what did that soon to be dead Uchiha do…"

Naruto shook his head and frowned at his teammate, "Why are you hiding anyways? Aren't you, like, the one that wears the pants or something?"

Kanoko went slightly pink in embarrassment and mumbled inaudibly before suddenly ducking out of the way again.

"Hey! Naruto! How's it going?" Chouji spoke, walking passed the curtains and into the ramen stand, "Five bowls of pork ramen, please!"

Naruto turned to Chouji with a grin and greeted him back, "Hey Chouji!" Naruto paused before whispering with a hand cupped around his mouth, "Have you seen Shikamaru lately? He's on a warpath!"

Chouji gave Naruto a belly laugh in response, "Yeah! You should have seen it when Sasuke told him!"

Naruto blinked, "Huh? What does duckbutt have to do with it?"

Kanoko tensed while crouched behind the ramen bar.

"Thank you!" Chouji told the staff as they placed his first bowl of ramen down, "Apparently…" Chouji started to slurp his ramen noodles while talking, "While we were all assigned to help Gaara and the Sand village recuse that girl, Kanoko took Sasuke to the edge of the Land of Fire, near the Rain Village."

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, sitting upright in his seat, "Kanoko took _**SASUKE**_ on a secret mission?!"

Chouji nodded, taking a big gulp of his food, "Uhuh. They were looking for an ex-jounin from the Leaf, now working for the Rain, because he had this powerful sword belonging to the Second Hokage. The problem was, Kanoko told Shikamaru that the Hokage was sending her on a side mission to pick up some tea or something. Shikamaru's now pissed that she lied to him **and** went on a suicide mission of her own creation."

Naruto slammed his hand on the counter and turned his head slowly in the direction Kanoko was crouched down. With a growl, Naruto shouted, "You took _**DUCKBUTT**_ on a _**secret**_ mission to steal back a sword from the _**Second Hokage**_ , and you _**DIDN'T BRING ME**_?!"

Kanoko dashed out of the ramen shop, knowing her odds of calming Naruto down before serious damage was done to be slim to none.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted before several Naruto clones poofed into existence and raced after his _former_ teammate.

Kanoko cursed as she turned her head to look at the parade of Naruto's heading her way before making a seal of her own, ' _And the true reason I created the flying thunder god jutsu comes to light…_ '

" _Flying Thunder god Jutsu!_ " Kanoko thought before flickering away.

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 **Extra 2) The Cons of Being a Woman**

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It was quiet and beautiful morning in the village of Konoha. It wasn't cold or hot and there was small cool breeze traveling through the town. Birds were chirping lightly while the light footsteps of animals and people alike were starting their day.

Small dark brown eyes blinked open lazily, trying to enjoy every extra second of his eyes closed. With a long yawn, Shikamaru stared up at the wood ceiling with a small amount of sadness that he would have to get up soon. It wasn't very often that he was able to sleep in. Either his mother would pull him out by his ankles and start him on some sort of manual task or his father would rip off the covers and force him to train in the ways of their clan.

And if neither of his parents were on him to get up, then the icy chill from the recently vacant spot next to him left him unable to enjoy the beauty that is sleep.

Shikamaru paused in his thoughts.

He and his sister went to bed early last night…

There was no way that she wouldn't be up by now…

Shikamaru turned his head slowly to see a patch of tangled brown hair. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the still body of his sister's. She wasn't moving and Shikamaru was worried that she might not be breathing. The fact that she was face down on the bed with her face shoved into her pillow wasn't helping matters.

Lifting a hand, Shikamaru twisted his body so he could shake Kanoko lightly, in an attempt to wake her up.

His hand was barely an inch away from her body when her own hand shot up and grabbed him roughly by the wrist, her grip cutting off the blood to his hand.

Shikamaru's eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when Kanoko's head turned slowly and demonically towards him.

Her eyes were bloodshot with long, dark bags underneath. Strands of hair were stuck to her face and small beads of sweat were pouring down her face. Kanoko's mouth stretched into a wide, wicked grin, " **Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.** "

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"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shikamaru screamed, trying desperately to pull his wrist out of his sister's grasp, "AHHHH! LET GO! LET GO!"

Shikamaru hit the floor with a loud thud when he finally snapped free of Kanoko's deathly grip. Barely on his feet, Shikamaru threw himself out of the room and dashed downstairs.

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Yoshino snapped her head around, only catching a brief glimpse of what she believed was her son. She was just on her way to wake up her children, slightly surprised she hadn't seen her daughter already. Shaking her head, Yoshino continued on into the twins' room.

"Kanoko honey?" Yoshino asked the dark room as she stepped inside. Yoshino scanned the room when no one answered and found a small bump in the bed. Yoshino approached the bed carefully before sitting down next to her daughter, whose face was once again smashed into her pillow.

Rubbing Kanoko's back softly, Yoshino whispered, "Kanoko honey, are you feeling ok?"

Kanoko groaned pathetically, "I'm going to die."

Yoshino raised an eyebrow, quickly thinking about any recent missions her daughter has been on that could have caused any serious injuries. Not thinking of any, Yoshino went into full investigation mode, "What hurts honey?"

Kanoko curled up slightly, feeling really embarrassed all of sudden.

Yoshino gave her daughter an annoyed look, "We can do this the easy way or the loud and painful way…"

"My stomach…" Kanoko mumbled out, "It feels like someone is stabbing me in the lower abdomen over and over again with a dull, jagged kunai…"

Yoshino blinked before smiling sadly at her poor daughter, "I was wondering when this time would come…" Lifting the covers off of Kanoko, Yoshino patted her daughter lightly on the back, "Come on. Up you go. A hot bath or shower will help."

"Uggg…" Kanoko groaned out, but did what her mother told her. While gritting her teeth and placing a hand on her hip, Kanoko limped out of bed and towards the bathroom with her mother.

The former Hokage glared harshly at nothing while thinking, " _When I figure out which deranged, sick_ _ **bastard**_ _brought me back to life as a_ _ **girl**_ _…_ "

Kanoko was interrupted from her death threats to an unknown enemy when her mother pushed her into the hot shower.

" _Shit! That's hot!_ " Kanoko thought in pain before relaxing when she realized that the lower pain was fading, " _Huh… Can't believe that worked…_ "

Kanoko's thoughts trailed off when she looked down at her feet.

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Deep red and light pink mixed with the translucent color of the water as it swirled down the drain. Kanoko quickly scanned her body for cuts or gashes. She stared down at the mixing colors in confusion when she couldn't find anything.

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Until another thought occurred to her.

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"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

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Shikaku looked up from his various mission reports to look across the breakfast table at his wife, "There sure is a lot of screaming in this house this morning…"

Yoshino just continued to fill the plates with hot food as she spoke in a normal tone, "I'm not exactly sure why your son ran to the deer shed, but our daughter is currently in the shower, likely crying over the shocking realization that she is no longer a little girl."

Shikaku blinked at Yoshino, "Wait… You don't mean…" Shikaku looked a little green all of a sudden.

Yoshino nodded with a smirk, "Your daughter is going through her first period."

Shikaku looked down at his food with a frown. Pushing it away he sighed, "I'm not hungry anymore."

Yoshino's smirk grew, "That's probably a smart move on your part." Shikaku looked up at his wife with a curious look before she continued, "After all, you promised you would give our children **the talk** when Kanoko got her first period."

Shikaku went pale.

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 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Beta Note:** FreelanceBum here, sorry to get this out so late. Reader06 had the chapter out quite a bit earlier, but my family is visiting from out of state. But Asami is back, so I'm happy and you better be too.

 **Author's Note:** It was partly my fault too! I was stressed out last weekend and sick and just couldn't write!

The extra part concerning the Blade of the Lightning Spirit was inspired by ssj3gohan007 as well as several other reviewers that have mentioned the weapon! :D

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful reviews! They motivate me and help improve the story, so please keep them coming! You all play a part, even if I can't show it all in one chapter how much of an impact you guys have!

Last, next chapter you will be thrown straight into Shippuden, so keep that in mind going forward. There will be flashbacks to the time in between, so lots of Jiraiya/Shikamaru/Naruto (non-pairing-way, just wanted to clarify) moments in the future.

SUPER MEGA THANK YOU to FreelanceBum for the awesome editing, as always! :D

 **THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL THE READERS** OF SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM! I COULDN'T ASK FOR A BETTER GROUP OF PEOPLE! **YOU GUYS ROCK!**


	38. Shippuden Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Apparently strikethroughs do not show up in Fanfiction, so anything that has "=" around it is a strikethrough. It's only for the beginning parts.**

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Dear =Kanoko= Asshole,

You're an asshole.

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Yours truly,

Uzumaki Naruto – The Sixth Hokage.

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Dear Asshole/Bastard,

Its day thirty and I still haven't forgiven you.

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Yours truly,

The Sixth Hokage and all around badass.

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P.S. I hope duckbutt is making your life miserable with his life sucking emo mood swings.

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P.S.P.S You never told me that your brother **latched** onto anything warm and breathing while he slept… Like, what the fuck?! He's like demon-possessed koala bear that squeezes the life out of its victims! I've tried _**everything!**_ Different rooms with locks, pressure activated traps, and **fucking** _ **metal chains**_! Nothing stops him!

And what's worse, is that he doesn't even know it! And trying to _**tell him**_ that he sleepwalks… The bastard just ignores me! Says that I'm not funny and that **he'd know** if he was sleepwalking! How the fuck would he know?! How?!

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ANSWER ME!

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Dear Arch Nemesis,

We're on our… Fifth? Sixth month? I think it has been six months since we left Konoha. Things have been pretty exciting so far… All super-secret stuff that I can't go into detail about, but let's just say some princesses were rescued, some bad guys were put down, some villages now have bridges named after me – you know, the normal things that happen to great ninjas like me.

Anyways…

=How's Sakura-chan?=

=What's been going on with our friends, specifically Sakura-chan?=

=So… Has Sakura talked about me? Like how she really misses me and how she cries herself to sleep?=

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If I get back and Sakura-chan is dating that bastard…

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Yours truly,

The most amazing ninja in =the Land of Fire= the world.

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P.S. KEEP DUCKBUTT AWAY FROM SAKURA!

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Dear The Most Amazing Person Ever and My Best Friend :D,

It's been a year since we last saw each other. It's hard to believe it's been that long. It feels like yesterday I packed my bags and made my way to the gates of Konoha – ready to start my next adventure.

Everyone had shown up, too, to see me off. All the rookie genin, bushy-brow's team, all our senseis, Iruka-sensei… Everyone... It was crazy… I remember walking through the forest leading out of Konoha with a smile on my face and a warm flutter in my chest.

One of the best days of my life.

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Until I realized that was stuck pitching tents in the middle of nowhere with the Land of Fire's biggest pervert and the world's laziest bastard.

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But that's all in the past now! I toooootally forgive you for using my selfless nature to trick me into giving you two and a half years of peace from your brother – who, randomly, decided to stop being lazy and is constantly running me into the ground with a **lovely** combination of physical and mental torture training.

Yep! You can rest easy knowing that that I completely forgive you for convincing me to follow a lunatic around, learning the consequences unprotected sex and mental terrors vindictive women with sharp knives can inflict on a person's psyche.

And I **most definitely** have forgiven you for _**forgetting**_ to tell me that, due to my blond hair and blue eyes, an _**entire village**_ would be out to get me.

Do you **know** how many fucking Stone shinobi there are?

A fucking shit ton – that's how much.

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But I digress (as you can tell, Shit-a-maru is helping me expand my vocabulary)…

The point of this letter is to inform you that I have no ill will against you and that you can rest easy knowing that I haven't hired high caliber assassins from the Village Hidden in the Mist to murder you on one of your missions.

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Serious.

It wasn't me.

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 _ **Really**_.

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Yours truly,

Uzumaki Badass Naruto

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P.S. But if you _**happen**_ to find a frog wallet on one of the assassins that, coincidently, looks similar to froggy – my own personal wallet which is currently on my person – I would be really grateful to receive such a fashionable gift.

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Dear Ex-Best Friend/Person I Really Want To Punch,

The gift basket of ramen, but was actually ramen cups full of rotten leeks was both rude and uncalled for.

Here am I, dead beat tired after almost falling to my death a total of three times, surviving at least five bandit fortress infiltrations in order to rescue four princesses and one smelly old man, escaping a **horde** of angry, broken hearted women out for pervy-sage's blood, protecting the new Kazekage from a political plot involving arranged marriages and poisonous cocktails, facing off with some S-ranked samurai/ninja hybrid, running away from more scary women as they aimed an array of sharp objects towards our private parts, saving a whole village from a crazy, world dominating villain and his small army, and getting my head nearly crushed by Stone ninja, twice, and low and behold, I get the **magical** gift of a basket full of my favorite ramen cups from my least favorite teammate…

…Only to open one and be met with the horrific stench of rotten leeks.

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Not even I, Uzumaki the-most-forgiving-person Naruto, can overlook such atrocity.

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You should be ashamed. To defile the holiness of ramen in such a way...

Such disrespect.

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And as retribution, I have sneakily "dropped" a letter from Sakura to myself, informing me of a relationship between yourself and one Uchiha Sasuke. This letter was, conveniently, picked up by your brother, who is very unhappy and may or may not have hired highly skilled shinobi to eliminate duckbutt's procreating abilities.

You are welcome.

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Yours truly,

President of the Ramen is Life Association, Uzumaki Kickass Naruto

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Shikamaru,

For the last time, I am **neither** in a relationship **nor** thinking about starting a relationship with Uchiha. If you do not call off the attacks threatening the continuation of the Uchiha Clan, I will be forced to send you Mr. Deerling…

In pieces.

This will be your only warning.

With care,

Kanoko

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Dear Kill-Joy,

It's been two years since lazy-ass, pervy sage and I left Konoha. Man… So much has happened, but at the same time, it feels like just yesterday we walked out the gates of Konoha, waving bye to all our friends and family…

I wonder how much everyone's changed…

Of course I've gotten a lot stronger, and cooler, and amazing and shit.

Shikamaru still sucks all the fun out of everything (just like another Nara I know…) and is still incredibly lazy, but he's changed a lot. He's… I don't know how to put it… Dependable? Like, I know that you, Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei are there for me, always, but with Shikamaru… I don't know, it's like… I rely on him without even thinking. When we're fighting off against enemies our moves and ideas just naturally play off each other.

It's really freeing.

Pervy sage has changed a lot too – something I didn't even think was possible. Remember when he used to vaguely explain something and then go on his way and goof off? Well, Shikamaru went all "physiological warfare" on his ass. Seriously, the lazy bastard is downright frightening when he wants to be. Pervy sage was in a constant state of paranoia, not sure when Shikamaru would attack – and I don't mean physically! Your brother would just shrug and make an off handed remark that neither of us understood until several hours later when pervy sage would just stare at Shikamaru like he was some kind of demon.

It went on for a while until pervy sage just broke out in laughter until he couldn't breathe. After catching his breath he just shook his head at us and said something like, "It figures it'd be the two of you" or something like that. Anyways, I didn't get it, but after that, pervy sage took our training seriously.

He's still a pervert though.

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Has everyone else changed as much?

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Yours truly,

Uzumaki Naruto, Your Next Hokage

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Dear Kanoko,

We're coming home.

See you soon,

Shikamaru

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Stay safe sis.

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Also… Don't tell kaa-san… :(

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Shikamaru,

I would do a lot of things for you.

Lying to kaa-san is not one of them.

With care,

Kanoko

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Tou-san says he will mourn the loss of his only son like he has mourned no one before.

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" _You know, you're kind of a walking contradiction."_

 _A young man, no older than fifteen turned towards the voice. The young man raised an eyebrow before shaking his head lightly, trying to shake out the drops of rain out of his pale, sand colored hair._

 _The voice spoke again, "Seriously. You are both the simplest and most complicated person I've ever met."_

 _The boy rolled his eyes, "And you're noisiest." The blonde placed a cloth down on the ground before dipping a long blade into the river, "And you complain about women…" The young man mumbled as he started cleaning blood off of his sword._

 _A figure emerged from the shadows with his arms crossed, "See, this is what I mean. You'll speak with anyone that strikes up a conversation with you and respond to them with a politeness and respect that should be reserved to people you_ _ **actually**_ _care about, but you'll also cut them down just as quickly if you deem them a threat." The figure paused to eye the multiple blades the young man was cleaning, "And without any future regrets."_

 _The young man turned to give the figure a blank look, "Is there a point to this conversation Shika or are you just making noise for the sake of making noise?"_

 _Shika gave his friend an annoyed look, "And this is also why you only have one friend, Tobirama."_

 _Tobirama shrugged as he started to dry off his weapons, "Friends are liabilities." His red eyes shifted to Shika, his expression showing boredom, "And I'm not sure how I even got one to begin with."_

 _Shika sighed, shaking his head as he returned Tobirama's bored look with a dull one of his own, "You and me both."_

" _OI! SHIKA-KUN!" A pitched voice called out through the trees._

 _Shika turned ghost white, "Shit." Looking towards Tobirama, he hissed at him, "Tell her I'm dead!" And with that, the boy faded back into the shadows._

 _Running out into the clearing by the river, a young woman with bright red hair flowing around her stopped a few feet away from Tobirama. The girl snapped her head around before settling her gaze on the blonde, "Ugg… It's you."_

 _Tobirama straightened his back as he slowly stood, pretending as if he did not hear the red head next to him._

" _HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU BUDDY!" She barked at him, making Tobirama's nose to scrunch up at the noise._

 _Stomping over, the young woman hissed, "I know I heard Shika-kun around here… What'd you do with him?"_

 _Tobirama raised an eyebrow at the woman's pointed question. Taking a moment to think it over, he settled on, "I killed him."_

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" _NOOOOOO! YOU'RE DEAD SENJU! THIS MEANS WAR!" She roared at him, her red hair standing up on end and deadly chakra racing around her._

" _WAIT! MISAKO!" Shika called out, running out into the clearing and putting himself between the girl and his friend, "He was just kidding!"_

 _Misako blinked before running through a series of expressions that, if Tobirama cared enough would have made him laugh. Shock, happiness, anger, confusion, then back to anger appeared on her face before the red head started yelling again, "WHAT THE HELL SENJU?!"_

 _Tobirama shrugged, "Shika wanted me to tell you he died. I figured the benefits of being known as the shinobi who killed the Nara Clan's heir would outweigh any hate you have against me for such an act. After all…" Tobirama raised an eyebrow at Misako, "You already react violently every time you see me."_

" _Because you're an asshole!" She shouted back at him._

 _Tobirama rolled his eyes, "Obviously. I didn't realize you were slow, in addition to being crazy."_

" _AHHHH!" Misako screamed in anger, pulling the ends of her hair to stop herself from getting into another fight with the Senju._

 _Shika sighed heavily at his two friends as he thought, "Why am I cursed with such troublesome friends…"_

" _Why don't you say that again when you aren't hiding behind your friend-" Misako started before stopping suddenly and twisting her body around._

 _Tobirama stiffened, having also felt the spike in negative energy coming from behind Misako. Tobirama pushed out his senses, trying to identify the source._

 _._

 _In an instant the area was covered in blazing red flames. Standing at the edge of the fiery hell were several shinobi._

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 _Shinobi dressed in dark red and black, sporting an insignia that always made his heart stop and his breath hitch._

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 _Uchiha._

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 _And worse yet, he recognized the person at the front of the group._

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 _Uchiha Madara._

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Kanoko gasped loudly as she sat straight up from where she slept. Breathing heavily, Kanoko quickly placed a hand over her heart. Taking deep breaths, she started to calm herself down – her eyes dropping to stare blankly at the sleeping bag covering her bottom half.

"What's wrong?"

Kanoko turned her head slightly, her orange eyes looking up at the person speaking to her, "It's nothing Sasuke." Kanoko stared back down at her closed fists loosening their grip on her lap, "Just a bad memory."

Sasuke kept his gaze on his mission partner for a few moments before turning to look up at the full moon, "It's the moon. When it's full like this..."

Kanoko looked up at the bright yellow moon, taking a moment to take in its glow. Her sharp eyes shifted silently toward the Uchiha, " _That's right… It was full moon that night too._ "

Sasuke caught Kanoko's gaze and shrugged her look off, "Try to get some sleep. I don't want to be stuck handling everything on this mission."

Kanoko shook her head with a slight smirk on her face, "What you mean to say is, you want to get done with this mission as soon as possible so you can be back in Konoha in time to welcome home Naruto."

Sasuke scoffed as he crossed his arms. Instead of responding, he turned away and took off into the woods – likely to make another round around the area in order to avoid getting teased by Kanoko.

Kanoko chuckled quietly at her partner's antics. Taking another look up at the sky, Kanoko's mind wondered back to her dream.

" _I haven't thought about my past in a long time._ " Kanoko laid back and slowly closed her eyes, " _I shouldn't read too much into it. They're just bad memories._ "

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Nine-hundred and thirteen days.

After nine-hundred and thirteen days he was back. Back to where the sun was warm, but no overly so; where the breeze lightly blew through and the leaves fluttering back and forth; where kids ran through the streets as they played and laughed; where shinobi and civilians alike came together and shared their home; where a sense of peaceful warm and joy spread over the land, seeping into everything it touched.

Naruto took a deep breath in with his arms wide open, " _Home. Home sweet home._ " Naruto grinned to himself as he saw Konoha's gate peak through the trees.

"It's good to be back, isn't it boys?" Jiraiya sighed out, smiling warmly at the sight of Konoha's large walls. Jiraiya turned to look at the two boys, now young men that walked behind him.

Both had really grown up in both looks and attitudes.

Shikamaru had grown quite tall, five feet and six inches, much to Naruto's dissatisfaction. His spiked ponytail had also grown in length, but not overly so. He had also filled out more. Shikamaru was no longer that lanky kid with a big head. While Shikamaru's natural lax demeanor and insightful observations had calmed Naruto's more act first, think later instinct, Naruto's own hardworking and inspiring persona (or as Shikamaru liked to call it: pure troublesome essence) had forced Shikamaru into a daily ritual of training, running for his life, and training some more.

Shikamaru couldn't have stay thin as a stick if he wanted to – not without dying in the process.

Due to his growth, he could no longer wear his preferred outfit: Loose slacks, a fish net undershirt, and his clan half jacket. Now, Shikamaru wore dark, ankle length, fitted dark gray cargo pants and a black turtle neck long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows.

Jiraiya shook his head slightly as he thought about the Nara's choice in clothes. Simple and plain. A complete opposite to Naruto and himself. The sage chuckled to himself as he thought, " _I never should have taught him that unlimited storage seal. Figures the kid would use it to be extra lazy and plain looking._ "

Not long after Jiraiya had taught Shikamaru a variety of storage seals, he had found the boy in the middle of tattooing his third seal on his body. Jiraiya just about had a heart attack. After all, seals, if written incorrectly or if even the smallest of errors was made, the seal could be quite destructive. And here was this pre-teen _**tattooing it**_ on his _**body**_.

Shikamaru just shrugged and mentioned that his sister tattooed all sort of experimental seals on her body and she was still alive.

Though… As soon as it came out of the young boy's mouth, Jiraiya could see the doubt growing in Shikamaru's eyes. As if it just occurred to him that his sister was clinically insane and no one should be taking lessons from her – unless they wanted to die a painful death.

"COME ON PERVY SAGE! I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

Jiraiya was pulled from his thoughts at the screeching noise of his least and most favorite student: Uzumaki Naruto.

Turning his head, he saw Naruto standing with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed in a glare.

Jiraiya smirked at the kid, now teenager. As much as the kid had changed over the last few years, he also hadn't changed at all. For every mature part of Naruto there was an equally immature part. One look at Naruto only reinforced that thought.

Due to the, surprising, amount of bitching Shikamaru gave Naruto regarding his choice to wear the most identifiable and glow-in-the-dark bright color that ever existed (which, paired with Naruto's notorious luck was a recipe for disaster), Naruto purchased a new outfit with Shikamaru once they had out grown their current ones.

The result was surprising to the old sage, who was painfully reminded why Naruto meant more to him than he was willing to admit. Gone were the bright orange pant and jacket with the creepy white collar. Instead, the blonde sported black pants with matching sandals and a long sleeved navy blue turtle neck jacket, which accentuated the bright blue of the First Hokage's necklace which lay over his shirt. What really hit Jiraiya in the gut was that Naruto had also found a cream colored cloak that reminded him of the one Minato wore turning his tenure as Hokage. The only differences was the length of the cloak, which end at his thighs, and the plainness of the cloak – the only marking on it was an orange swirl drawn on the back with a permanent marker.

All in all, with his clothes, hair and black headband, Naruto reminded Jiraiya of his former student – and boy, did it hurt.

In fact, if Naruto didn't open his mouth, Jiraiya may be tricked into believing Minato had never died.

But Naruto couldn't keep quiet for long…

He was so much like his mother…

Brash, loud, and a temper that would make most women jealous, Naruto was his mother's son without a doubt. Even with Shikamaru's constant attentiveness to calm Naruto down or get him to think before he acted, Naruto was still the same "act first, save everyone, and remember that he was still human and could actually bleed to death later" person he was before.

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Shikamaru chuckled lowly at Naruto, who was currently looking torn between acting like an adult and just leaving Jiraiya to his thoughts, and acting like a three year old and jumping up and down in a tantrum. The Nara looked up at the blue sky, full of bright white clouds, and exhaled peacefully. Closing his eyes to feel the breeze, he couldn't fault Naruto for wanting to get home as soon as possible.

He missed this.

A lot more than he thought he would.

Taking another deep breath, Shikamaru looked over to his friend and shrugged at him, "Give him a moment Naruto. You can't blame him for acting the way he is." Shikamaru looked towards the Leaf's gate, "Stepping through those doors means our mission, trip, or whatever you want to call it is over. Two and a half years ago we left the village with a goal, but when it came down to it, the whole thing was bound to be nothing but a drag." Shikamaru smirked lightly as he looked at Naruto, "After everything we went through together, just the three of us against the world, I can honestly say I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Naruto blinked at Shikamaru words. Turning to his sensei, Naruto grin at Jiraiya, "Ahh! Pervy-sage! Don't worry! We will still come visit you when we're superstars and your counting coupons in your little shack built for one!"

Jiraiya's eye twitched, "Superstars? Ha!" Jiraiya crossed his arms and barked out laughter, "You wouldn't know the first thing about being a celebrity! And that's coming from the Land of Fire's best selling author!" Jiraiya paused before adding with a snort, "And I'll have you know, my retirement home will be full of beautiful women and guess what? You're not invited!"

Naruto scoffed, "Pleeeease! As if I'd want to go to your stinking hole in the ground full of old hags!"

Jiraiya opened his mouth to retort when Shikamaru cut in with a sigh and a heavy drawl in his voice, "If you two are going to keep this up, the gates are going to close and we're going to have to wait until morning to get in."

Naruto snapped his head around, "No way!" He turned back to Jiraiya and called out to him before running off, "Come on pervy sage! I know you're old, but seesh! Pick up the pace!"

Jiraiya crossed his arms and mumbled under his breath about unappreciative bastards and demon children, or something – Shikamaru was barely listening.

Shikamaru took one last look at the sky before passing through the gates to his home, " _Home… I wonder how much has changed._ "

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"UGG! This is soooo unfair!"

"Come one Ino. It's not that bad…"

Yamanaka Ino snapped her head to her long time frenemy, once best friend and once again best friend, Haruno Sakura.

"Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD?!" Ino exclaimed while raising her arms in the air, "WERE YOU LISTENING AT ALL?!"

Sakura sighed heavily, "Let's at least get to our destination before you start in on your life's-not-fair-rant."

Ino snorted but followed after her friend as the two of them walked into Team 10's favorite barbeque joint.

Passing through the curtained door, Sakura straightened her back to look around the place for an open seat.

"Follow me. There's always one open over here." Ino told her pink haired friend before grabbing her wrist and dragging her near the back.

Sakura was caught slightly off guard by Ino's sudden pull and stumbled slightly, her chin length, light pink hair swishing slightly in the wind. Sakura had decided to cut her hair when it kept getting in her way when she was working with patients.

Finding an empty table to two kunoichi took a seat across from each other. Ino flipped her long blonde ponytail over her shoulder and quickly ordered for the both of them before jumping back into the conversation she had started earlier, "So you were about to tell me what you thought about the whole thing."

Sakura groaned slightly, wishing Kanoko would teach her how to teleport out of any situation, "I don't know Ino. I guess I just don't care."

Ino crossed her arms underneath her purple clothed chest and scoffed, "You can't be serious! That bitch Ami thinks she can come into MY flower shop with some BOY TOY and tell me-"

Sakura jumped up from the table, her emerald eyes wide as she stared out the restaurant's window.

"Sakura? What-" Ino tried to say before her pink hair friend raced out of the restaurant. Ino stared at Sakura's fleeing back in wonder, "What the hell…" Turning back to the window, Ino leaned over the table to see if she could see what caused Sakura to run out.

Pale blue eyes widened, "No way!"

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Sakura raced out of the barbeque restaurant, pushing past people coming in and ran out into the street. Her emerald eyes searched the area frantically, in order to get a glimpse of what she saw before, but didn't believe it.

Wind blew through the area, kicking up leaves and blowing various other paper-like items. The slight breeze was all Sakura needed for her eyes to catch the swishing of a cream colored cloak she had seen earlier.

" _Naruto…_ "

Sakura watched Naruto turn his head to the side, laughing at something the person next to him said. She was completely frozen. Naruto… He looked so… Different. More confident, more mature, more…

"Damn!" Sakura her Ino say next to her with an appreciative whistle, "Naruto looks hot!"

Sakura just nodded automatically, completely in a daze. She didn't know what shocked her more: The lack of orange or how cool he looked in such a simple outfit.

Ino crossed her arms and tilted her head, "Shikamaru looks the same though – completely plain! Still doesn't put a single thought into his appearance, the lazy bastard!" Ino frowned and narrowed her eyes, "Of course **your** teammate would come back a complete hunk and mine would just get taller."

Sakura was pulled from her gaze on Naruto fleeting back when she caught the tail end of Ino's rant. Shifting her eyes to the person next to Naruto, she blinked, "That's Shikamaru?"

Ino huffed, "I'd recognize that miserable slouch anywhere."

"Wow." Sakura spoke in wonder, "They both have really changed. I wonder… If they are completely different people now."

Ino laughed and placed a hand on her hip, "Yeah right! Those two? It's more likely that Kiba would become a cat lover and Shino would become an exterminator than those two being anything but lazy and crazy!"

Sakura crossed her arms and mumbled, "Naruto's not crazy…"

Ino threw her hands in the air, "You know what? I give up." The blonde reached out and grabbed Sakura's wrist before pulling her roughly through the crowd, in the direction that Naruto and Shikamaru left in.

"Ino! What the-" Sakura called out.

"You wanted to see if they changed right?" Ino told her with a large grin, "What better way to figure it out then to ask them yourself?"

"Ino!" Sakura chastised her.

"Oh hush! You know you want to!" Ino replied before turning back and racing towards the Hokage's tower with one Haruno Sakura in tow.

"INO!"

.

* * *

.

.

"Kanoko, honey! Could you grab the glass pan for me?" Yoshino called out while mixing ingredients in a bowl.

"Of course kaa-san." Kanoko answered, stepping around her mother and grabbing the dish from the cupboards. Kanoko placed the dish next to her mother and asked, "Is there anything else I can do?"

Yoshino smiled and shook her head, "Thank you honey. And you're free to leave. I won't hold you up any longer."

Kanoko shook her head, "I don't mind." Orange eyes looked over the supplies spread out on the counter, "You're really spoiling him, you know. Making him his favorite dish…" Kanoko shook her head with a slight smile, " _Though I imagine he's still going to get yelled at for not telling kaa-san he was coming home today._ "

Yoshino moved around and picked up the mackerel on the counter, "Go, go! Your mother can handle something as simple as this!"

Kanoko nodded politely, knowing better than to get on her mother's bad side. Kanoko turned away and started to walk out the house. Just as she passed through the front door, she noticed her father playing shogi by himself on the porch.

"Noko-chan." Shikaku called out lightly with a smirk on his face.

Kanoko resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I wish you wouldn't call me that anymore…"

Shikaku shrugged with a smile, "You'll always be my little girl and little girls need cute little names like Noko-chan."

Kanoko groaned, "Tou-san…"

Shikaku laughed at his child before waving his hand, "Now off you go. Go find your troublesome brother and bring him home before your mother goes on a rampage."

Kanoko sighed but smiled as she spoke to her father, "She's making his favorite. It won't take much to convince him."

Shikaku nodded, turning back to his game, "In any case, I wish you luck." Shikaku started chuckling under his breath and spoke low, "My poor boy's going to get the shock of his life when you too meet after all this time."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"

Shikaku didn't look up, he simply waved his hand, "Oh don't listen to the ramblings of an old man."

Kanoko frowned slightly, annoyed by her father's teasing. Shrugging, Kanoko decided to leave it be. After all, she still needed to track down her brother and teammate. Goodness knows she won't be able to leave with her brother in tow without answering a million questions from her teammate.

The Nara heiress started walking out of the Nara lands and headed in the direction of the Uchiha Compound.

" _I should check in with Sasuke. The realtor should be meeting him today to discuss selling a few homes within the compound._ " Kanoko thought, " _No doubt Sasuke will give the realtor a hard time…_ "

.

* * *

.

.

"About time the three of you came home!" Tsunade chastised them before smirking, "I sure do hope all the time spent away did some good."

Naruto grinned brightly, "Hell yeah!" Naruto turned and looked to Shikamaru before nudging his side, "Even Shikamaru's not a complete loser anymore!"

"Hey." Shikamaru snapped at Naruto with a lazy drawl in his voice, "You weren't any better."

Naruto crossed his arms, "I-"

Naruto didn't get to finish as the doors swung open and two kunoichi barreled through.

"Hokage-sama! I'm so sorry! Ino wouldn't let go and-"

"Sakura… Chan?" Naruto spoke, his eyes slightly widening.

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. Sakura's pink hair, once long and flowed gracefully behind her, was now cut short – floating just above her shoulders with a ends curling in slightly. Her bangs were not flat and blending in with her hair while a few strands swept over her forehead from right to left.

Naruto's eyes traveled down and noticed her red and white dress had been shortened as well with a thick black band secured tightly around her waist – framing her slight curls. The dress ended mid-thigh and underneath was tight black shorts that ended a few inches above her knees. And finally, on her feet were sandals that looked very similar to the ones Tsunade wore.

"You know… Everyone in the room is started to feel really uncomfortable – the way you are looking over Sakura like a piece of meat." Shikamaru told his friend plainly.

Naruto jumped, "What?! Wait! No! It's not what you think!"

Sakura blushed crimson before gritting her teeth and holding her fist in the air, "Naaaaaruto!"

Ino laughed out loud, "You can't get mad at him, Sakura! You were doing the same thing just a few minutes ago! You were just sneakier about it!"

Naruto looked over to Ino. To him, she looked the same. Though he did turn slightly pink when he noticed her flat stomach was on display for anyone to see and her shorts were quite short.

"INO!" Sakura screeched while turning red.

"Ehem!"

Everyone turned around to see Tsunade giving them an annoyed look, "I know you're all excited, but flirt on your own time!"

Everyone turned slightly pink while Jiraiya just broke out in laughter, "Oh to be young…"

"Anyways…" Tsunade started, giving Jiraiya an annoyed look before continuing, "I'm happy to see you both home and in one piece." Tsunade leaned back in her chair and smirked, "But now it's time to prove to me that the last two and a half years weren't a waste." The Fifth Hokage turned to Shikamaru, "Jiraiya tells me you have more than earned your chunin stripes. I, of course, will be the final judge of that."

Shikamaru's shoulders dropped, " _I should have made a break for it when I had the chance…_ "

Naruto looked from Shikamaru to Tsunade, "What are you talking about, baa-chan?"

Tsunade smirked, "You didn't think I would just let the two of you out to complete missions in the name of the Leaf without confirming you're up for the task." Tsunade eyed Jiraiya, "Someone's too much of a softy to be trusted to give an unbiased opinion."

Jiraiya crossed his arms, "Softy? That's funny coming from you!"

Naruto cut in, impatient to learn how Tsunade would test the two of them, "So what are you going to have us do?"

Tsunade turned back to Naruto, "The two of you are going to be tested with your original teams."

Sakura perked up at this statement, "Original teams? I thought…"

"That because Kanoko was a jounin now that your genin team would split up?" Tsunade finished with a smirk, "I have news for you kids. Your genin teams were made by the late Third Hokage himself. Your fates were determined a long time ago."

Ino turned to Shikamaru, "The Third Hokage? Did you know that?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "I knew our team was predetermined. I mean, just look at our tou-sans."

Naruto looked at his peers before snapping his head back to Tsunade, "Wait, so…" Naruto looked at Sakura, "You're saying that all of Team Kakashi is getting tested?" Naruto looked around the room, "Then where's Kanoko?"

"Right now? Beating Sasuke over the head with a stick for being an idiot – her words, not mine." A voice spoke from the widow behind the Hokage.

Naruto and Sakura perked up, "Kakashi-sensei!" They both called out.

"Yo!" Kakashi responded with a smiling eye. Looking from Naruto to Sakura, Kakashi spoke, "It's been a long time, hasn't Sakura?"

Sakura sweatdropped, "Yeah… It's nice to know that your own sensei will go through great lengths to avoid you, just because you're training with his arch nemesis."

Kakashi took a thoughtful look, "That certainly doesn't sound like a very good sensei…" Kakashi smiled at Sakura, "It's a good thing you have me then, huh?"

Sakura groaned and mumbled, "I never thought I would miss Gai-sensei…"

Kakashi held a hand to his heart and gasped, "You wound me, Sakura-chan!"

"AHEM!" Tsunade coughed out, her eyes narrowed.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, "Apologies, Hokage-sama…"

"Continuing on…" Tsunade started with an annoyed tone, but was cut off by Naruto.

"So Kakashi-sensei, do you know who we're facing off against?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade's eye twitched, "IF YOU LET ME CONTINUE!"

Jiraiya laughed out loud, "Ooooh I miss this! Seeing other people be driven crazy instead of me!"

Shikamaru sighed and gave Jiraiya a bland look, "You know you're just asking for trouble."

"THAT'S IT!" Tsunade shouted, slamming her hands on the desk in front of her. Pointing her finger at Naruto, she shouted, "You!" She moved her hand to point at Sakura, making her jump, "You!" Tsunade pointed at Shikamaru, making him turn pale, "And your infuriating sister are all facing off against him!" Tsunade finished by pointing at Kakashi, "And you're going to do it BEFORE I WALK BACK INTO THIS OFFICE TOMORROW!"

Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura all nodded, looking a bit pale.

"GOOD!" Tsunade shouted again before pushing her chair back and stomping towards the door, "Now I'm getting myself a well-deserved drink!"

Shizune, who was standing behind the Hokage's desk, jumped and raced after her Hokage, "Wait! Tsunade!"

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, "Well…" He looked over to Sakura and Ino, "Have you seen Kanoko today?"

Ino crossed her arms and frowned, "She's probably hanging around Sasuke-kun, like Kakashi-sensei said."

Shikamaru frowned and look to Kakashi, "You said earlier… Something about my sister beating Uchiha up?"

Kakashi looked up, while placing a hand on his chin, "Did I? I can't remember…"

Sakura and Naruto sweatdropped. Naruto turned to Sakura, "He hasn't changed at all, has he?"

Sakura shook her head, "Not a bit."

Kakashi looked between his students with a sad look, "Such love you two have for your precious sensei…"

Naruto gave Kakashi a bland look before a thought occurred to him, "Oh! That reminds me…" Naruto pulled back part of his cloak and pulled out a book, "I got something for you!"

Kakashi, curious, leaned forward to look at what Naruto got for him. Kakashi's one eye widened, "Is… That…?!"

Naruto snickered, "Yep! Make out Tactics! Pervy-sage's third book! Signed and everything!"

Kakashi was stuck between squealing like a schoolgirl and laughing out loud in happiness. Grabbing it gently, like handling a newborn, he looked up at Naruto with a tear in his eye, "I've missed my favorite student."

"Hey!" Sakura called out, crossing her arms and glaring at her sensei.

"Ehem.." Kakashi coughed lightly, trying to school his excitement, "In any case… You both need to find Kanoko before I can start your test." Kakashi looked up, "And who knows exactly what my old student has gotten up to. Could be anything." Kakashi looked at his two students with a grin, "And since I'm such an amazing sensei, I will give you the rest of the afternoon to find her and get ready to face off against me!"

"Riiiight… And your generosity has nothing to do with the book in your hand." Shikamaru drawled out.

Kakashi looked at Shikamaru and smiled, "You know… For person who wants to be neither seen nor heard, you sure are quite noisy."

Shikamaru simply responded with an annoyed look.

Kakashi chuckled quietly to himself before turning to the rest of the group and waved, "Well… Toodles!" And in a puff of smoke, he was gone.

"That good for nothing…" Naruto started with a growl.

Sakura sighed, "Let's go find Kanoko. She'll have an idea on how to beat Kakashi-sensei."

.

A few minutes later, Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto and Sakura were all walking down the main street of Konoha, in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

Sakura walked beside Ino, staring at Naruto's and Shikamaru's back, " _Maybe Ino was right. They haven't really seemed to change that much._ " Sakura smiled lightly, " _I wonder if they're shocked by how much we've changed…_ "

Naruto stopped suddenly, making everyone turn towards him with a curious look. The blonde boy turned to Sakura and narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide.

Naruto rubbed his chin, "You said… Kanoko was a jounin?"

"Well duh!" Ino answered for her friend, "That's not even the half of it! Sasuke-kun and Neji have made jounin as well, and most of us think Sasuke-kun and Kanoko are also in the ANBU."

Sakura nodded solemnly, "Yeah… I worry about those two. They really are pushing themselves too hard…"

Shikamaru's fists tightened while Naruto's face turned serious. Straightening his back, Naruto's voice got deeper, "ANBU…"

Shikamaru looked from his friend over to Ino, "Earlier… You agreed with Kakashi that Kanoko would likely be around Sasuke. Why is that?"

Sakura perked up, "Oh! That's right, you guys have missed everything…" Sakura turned and looked in the direction of the Uchiha compound, "Kanoko and Sasuke have been working hard between missions to rebuild the Uchiha compound to the way it was before. They even have this fifteen year plan to raise the Uchiha Clan to the position it was before."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Fifteen year plan?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah. Kanoko explained a bit of it to me once. Apparently the first step was rebuilding the houses and giving the compound an upgrade to match current standards and luxuries. Next, they held certain events within the main house of the compound – just simple things like parties and meetups. Now they're trying to sell certain homes within the compound, in order to encourage people to come to the compound on a regular basis – essentially trying to make the compound not feel so isolated."

Ino crossed her arms and mumbled, "Yeah, now all that's left is to repopulate the compound with little Uchihas…"

Naruto's eyebrows shot up, "Wait, WHAT?!"

Shikamaru frowned, "Isn't that great news? Don't you want to be Mrs. Uchiha or…" Shikamaru looked over to Sakura, wondering if Ino was upset that Sakura finally won their half a decade long fight.

Sakura blushed at Shikamaru's look and shook her head.

Ino huffed, "As if I'd lose to billboard brow!"

Sakura scoffed and glared at her friend, "Bring it on, Ino-pig!"

Naruto jumped up and moved his hands to form a timeout symbol, "Woah, woah! Time out!" Naruto looked to Ino, "So you aren't dating duckbutt…" He turned to Sakura, "And you aren't dating duckbutt – thank god…" Naruto mumbled that last part out before looking back and forth between the two girls, "Then what crazy, suicidal, blind woman is going to be… Assisting in the repopulation of the Uchiha clan?" Naruto's face scrunched up, "Are we really even sure this is such a good idea? This is duckbutt we're talking about. Isn't there a rule on how many emos one village is allowed?"

"No, but there is a rule on how many dobes we can have per village, dobe." A deep voice spoke from behind Naruto, making everyone turn.

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. If it isn't Uzumaki Naruto! Shikamaru too!"

"Naruto-kun… It has been a long time, I hope you are well."

Naruto blinked before grinning, "Kiba, Hinata! And even duckbutt!"

"Hn." Sasuke responded, but smirking slightly, unable to keep the frown on his face.

Shikamaru took a quick look over the trio in front of them. Dressed in a dark leather jacket and long dark pants, Kiba stood at a proud five feet and five inches. He wasn't the shortest kid of his academy group, but he had really grown over the last couple of years. Not just his height, but also in muscle. Shikamaru's eyes lowered slightly to the beast of a dog next to the Inuzuka. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, not having realized Akamaru was going to get so big – practically the size of a small horse!

Hinata, like Kiba, had changed quite a bit. Shikamaru was trying not to notice how much the young girl had filled out over the years, but was hard not – both due to the company he'd kept for the last two years and due to just how much more she looked like a woman compared to before. Opposite to Sakura, Hinata had grown out her hair and it flowed around her as if it was light as a feather. The girl was dressed in an outfit that didn't remind Shikamaru of the typical Hyuuga garb and honestly, didn't look all that much different than what she wore before – just different colors.

Last, Shikamaru scrutinized Sasuke – already feeling on edge by what everyone was insinuating what was going on between him and his sister. Taking a hard look at Sasuke, Shikamaru was mildly curious by the black haired boy's clothes. Shikamaru vaguely remembers the Uchiha Police Force, but looking at Sasuke's outfit now, he wondered if they were one in the same. Dressed in a standard Leaf uniform, the colors were completely different. His cargo pants and long sleeve turtle neck were both light gray while his vest was a dark gray. On the upper arm area of his sleeves was a green shuriken symbol with the Uchiha fan in the middle. Attached to his lower back was a short sword and on his shins were metal plates.

Shikamaru shifted his eyes to see Naruto's reaction. The blonde was still grinning, but he was standing taller and had placed his hands on his hips.

"I barely recognized you guys! It looks like everyone's changed!" Naruto told them with a grin before chuckling, "Though you're just as ugly as before, duckbutt!"

Sasuke smirked as he chuckled low.

Kiba cut in on his friend's behalf, "Least we look like men now! You just look like an overgrown child! Just as short too!"

Shikamaru couldn't help chuckling, especially when the girls behind him laughed out loud.

"WHY YOU!" Naruto started, holding his fist in the air.

Shikamaru placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gave him a smile. Naruto huffed, but calmed down to simply glare at Kiba before a thought occurred to him. Looking over at Sasuke, Naruto spoke, "We were looking for Kanoko. Everyone says you would know where she is."

Sasuke paled as Kiba barked out a laugh, holding his stomach as he did so.

The group looked at Team Kurenai strangely.

Hinata coughed lightly, trying not to laugh at her teammate before turning to the group to explain, "Kanoko-chan came by earlier this morning, to check on…" Hinata paused looking at Sasuke, who was frowning with his arms crossed.

"Well?" Naruto asked, insanely curious now.

Hinata looked a little sheepish before continuing, "Kanoko-chan walked into the compound just as Sasuke chased off the realtor he was meeting. I'm not quite sure what the agreement was that they had prior to this meeting, but Kanoko-chan took one look at Sasuke-"

"I thought she was going to kill him!" Kiba yelled out, cutting off Hinata, "Shit! I thought we were all dead! I 'bout nearly pissed my pants!"

Sasuke glared at his teammates, feeling betrayed by the both of them.

"So? What happened after that?" Naruto asked, a little too excited.

Kiba grinned, "Kanoko stomped up to him, grabbed him by the ear and dragged him behind one of the homes! I was too afraid to look, but I heard something on the lines of "immature little child" "this makes the tenth realtor this week alone" and "grow a pair and negotiate like a man"!"

Hinata frowned at her teammate, "It wasn't that bad!" Hinata turned to Naruto and the rest of the group, "Kiba is exaggerating. Kanoko-chan was simply disappointed in Sasuke. She wasn't yelling or anything…"

Naruto chuckled at Sasuke, "You know, I told Kanoko I hoped you were making her life miserable, but it sounds like you were the one being made miserable instead!"

Sasuke glared at the group before suddenly smirking.

Naruto stopped laughing, his eyes narrowing, "What are you smirking about?"

Sasuke shrugged with the smirk firmly on his face, "Nothing." He paused to smirk directly at Naruto, "Just wondering when you are going to realize that now that the two of you are back… All of Kanoko's mother-henning will be focused entirely on the two of you."

Shikamaru and Naruto paled immediately while everyone around them laughed loudly.

Shikamaru groaned looking up at the sky, "Troublesome…"

The laughter died down, allowing Kiba the opening to speak, "Well, I hate to run, but the three of us were supposed to meet up with Kurenai-sensei. And if there is one thing you don't do, it's stand up a pregnant jounin sensei whose specialty is creating nightmares."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Kurenai is pregnant?"

Ino giggled behind him, "And you'll never guess who the father is."

Shikamaru sighed at his teammate, "A certain cancer stick obsessed jounin…"

Ino nodded with another giggle, "Yep! Asuma-sensei is the lucky winner! You should have seen his face when Kanoko congratulated Kurenai on the baby! First time I've seen a cigarette fall out of his mouth!"

Shikamaru sighed, "Yeah… That sounds just like Kanoko… And Asuma-sensei…"

"Well, as I said, we have to go." Kiba repeated before grinning, "It was great to see you guys again! We should all get together and spar! You won't be able to beat Akamaru's and my teamwork!"

Naruto grinned back, "You're on!"

Hinata followed Kiba as he walked past Naruto, but stopped to bow slightly to Naruto and Shikamaru. Looking up at Naruto, Hinata turned slightly pink, but grinned widely at him, "I am happy you made it back safely, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked, a little taken aback by Hinata's smile before grinning back, "Thanks Hinata-chan!"

Sasuke was the last to leave, giving Naruto a nod before following after his teammates, but not before speaking low, "It's good to have you back, dobe."

Naruto grinned at Sasuke's back before yelling out loudly, "Aww! I missed you too!"

Shikamaru chuckled quietly next to Naruto before turning back to the girls, "So… Sasuke was a bust."

Sakura nodded before turning to Ino with a finger on her chin, "Shikamaru's right. Clearly she's not with Sasuke… Do you think she's at home? Or maybe out training?"

Ino shrugged, "She could even be at the Academy."

Sakura snapped her fingers, "You're right!"

"Academy?" Naruto asked, "Why would she be there?"

Sakura turned to Naruto, "Kanoko started volunteering her time at the academy – as a fill in for sick teachers or just assisting with grading. After a while, Iruka-sensei recommended that she be made a teacher. Lady Tsunade resisted at first, stating Kanoko was more valuable as an operative in the shinobi forces than as a teacher. It took some time, but Iruka was able to persuade enough people on his side and force the Hokage's hand. She agreed, but only as a part-time teacher. Missions still come first, but the way Kanoko goes through missions… She's at the academy most days."

"She's not the only one either." Ino cut in, "Shino's also began volunteering at the academy around the same time, when not on missions. I think some of their classes even overlap."

Naruto blinked, "What? Shino? As a teacher?!" Naruto turned to Sakura, "We're talking about the same Shino right? Glasses? Cloak? Bugs in his body?"

Sakura nodded with a smile, "Yep! He's good too! Makes Kanoko jealous by how much more well liked he is over her!"

Shikamaru's eyebrows rose, "Kanoko? Jealous?"

Ino laughed with Sakura, "Oh, you guys have no idea! Kanoko and Shino are one step away from being arch enemies!"

Sakura giggled, "It's really more a one-sided rivalry. Shino actually really respects Kanoko, he just likes trolling her."

Ino nodded, "Like that time-"

Sakura nodded with a large grin, "Oh my gosh, that one was soo good!"

Shikamaru looked to Naruto, "You've been replaced."

Naruto turned towards his friend with a confused look before Shikamaru's words settled into his brain. Naruto froze. Suddenly, Naruto threw his arms in the air as his knees hit the ground with a thud. Facing the sky, Naruto wailed out, "NOOOOOOOO!"

Sakura sighed at her teammate, "Oh come on Naruto. It's not that bad. Kanoko still has full days of bad moods after receiving some of your letters or "gifts"."

Naruto looked up at Sakura like she was an angel sent from heaven, "Sakura-chan…" Jumping to his feet, Naruto tried to play it cool by smirking and crossing his arms, "Well, that's good to hear, but you see, I've matured. I don't need to play pranks or best others to make myself feel better."

Sakura gave Naruto a bland look, "Riiiight."

Shikamaru chuckled and placed his hands in his pockets. Looking up at the sky, he noticed that the sun was starting to set, "You know…" He started, catching everyone's attention, "If you don't find my sister soon, you're going to fail your mission."

Naruto and Sakura blinked before turning towards each other, " _Shit!_ "

Ino looked up at the sky, "And you guys are on your own. I promised tou-san I would help him close up the flower shop tonight."

Sakura nodded, "Thanks for hanging out with us Ino! Are we still on for Tuesday?"

Ino grinned, "You bet!" Flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder, she grinned at the two boys, "See you guys later! And Shikamaru, don't forget to stop by Choji's house tomorrow! He'll be back from his mission then and he'll be sad if you don't visit him as soon as he's back!"

Shikamaru smiled lightly and nodded to his teammate, "Yeah, yeah. Of course I'm going to visit Choji."

Ino grinned back, "I know. Anyways, it's great to have you guys back! See you!"

"See you Ino!" Naruto and Sakura shouted out.

Sakura turned to the boys, "Academy?"

The boys nodded, taking a step in the direction.

.

.

* * *

.

"Jiraiya."

The white haired sannin turned around, holding a hand over his heart, "Damn kid! You're going to give me a heart attack!"

Kanoko gave the sannin a bland look, "In your last message, you mentioned the _**faction**_ was becoming active again. Two and half years after their first attack on the Waterfall Village…"

Jiraiya nodded solemnly, "You don't mess around, do you kid?"

Kanoko didn't respond to Jiraiya's comment.

The toad sage sighed heavily and spoke seriously with his arms crossed, "I have been going around these last few weeks and informing all the villages of the impending threat. While we still don't know their true goals, we do know the tailed beasts play a large part in it."

Kanoko nodded, "I assume the Sand is making the proper measures to ensure their Kazekage is not a victim to these rogue shinobi? The Sand will not survive the loss of another Kazekage as they are now. It would mean the end of the Village Hidden in the Sand, which will only lead to another great war."

Jiraiya stared at the Nara before him before shaking his head, "I forgot how much you scare me – not that your brother is any better, you damn Naras… Even knowing your heritage… The insight you have about the fragility of the nations and the politics behind it never ceases to amaze me."

Kanoko's tone gets darker, "This is not a laughing matter. If needed, the Leaf should be sending the Sand capable shinobi to defend the Kazekage. We _**cannot**_ lose the Sand as allies."

Jiraiya nodded, "I have warned them." The white haired sage paused, "But you may be right… There is still so much about this group we don't know, but I do know they have spies. The Sand has made great leaps in the last couple years, after the large loss in their forces in the Chunin Exams, but… Their Kazekage is just a child. If he is their strongest shinobi…"

Kanoko frowned, "If Naruto learns Gaara is in trouble, he won't hesitate. He'll be in the Land of Wind before we can even ask where he is."

Jiraiya smirked, feeling proud of his student, even if he did understand Kanoko's worry, "Naruto's one of a kind. Even knowing that he would be in danger… I trust him to pull through, no matter what."

Kanoko's frown deepened, "You sound confident. I can only hope the student of Hiruzen knows what he is doing."

Jiraiya paused, taking a moment to stare at Kanoko before playing it off coolly, "It's the kid. He brings it out in people. I'm sure you understand."

Kanoko nodded solemnly, "Unfortunately, yes." Kanoko looked up towards the Hokage's tower, "Regardless what you decide to inform the Hokage, I would reiterate my earlier comment. If the Sand loses their Kazekage we not only lose an ally, and are pulled into another great war, but our enemies would get what they want: A tailed beast." Kanoko turned to look at Jiraiya with blazing orange-reddish eyes, "And if you've ever faced a tailed beast, you would understand the true terror of the situation before us."

.

"And don't forget, they already have the seven-tailed beast."

.

* * *

.

"UGGG! WHERE IS SHE?!" Naruto shouted towards the sky.

The three of them had just finished searching the Academy, the Hokage's office, the marketplace, and even made their all the way over to the Hyuuga compound, in case Kanoko was over there training with Neji.

Either they were just barely missing the Nara heiress at each location or she had left the village to screw with them. Sakura reasoned that she could be back home, but Shikamaru quickly shook his head – wanting to expend all other options before traveling there.

They were now slowly approaching Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto's stomach started growling over an hour ago and he finally decided enough was enough. Just a foot away from the curtains leading into his favorite ramen stand, Naruto felt his mouth begin to water.

" _Ramen. Ramen. Ramen. Ramen. Ramen._ "

Naruto passed through the curtain to the ramen bar and opened his mouth, a large grin on his face and his eyes shining, "One bowl of the Naruto-"

"About time you showed up."

Naruto froze, completely immobile at the sound of such a familiar voice. Turning his head slowly to his left, Naruto's blue eyes landed a young woman sitting up straight, her body turned towards him.

The woman, who looked to be about his age, had long brown hair that spilled down over her shoulders and over her thighs. Her bangs were as long as her hair and framed her sharp oval face. Naruto's eyes traveled down from her face as his cheeks heated up. The brunette wore a tight black turtleneck with a dark cream button up shirt overtop. The sleeves of both shirts were missing and the tail of the button up ended just past her bottom, with a few buttons at the top undone – showing more of her black turtleneck as well as accentuating her considerably large bust without showing any cleavage. Over her hands and ending just below her elbows were long, dark brown gloves.

Naruto's eyes kept traveling down to take in her long legs, covered in skin tight cream colored pants. Covering her feet and calves were thick brown boots – the toe of the shoes covered in a thick, dark metal.

Blue eyes shot back up to meet orange ones when he realized he, for the second time today, was just caught checking out a member of the female population of Konoha.

And it did not look like she appreciated the visual pat-down.

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Though, that was nothing in comparison to the dark energy whipping around behind him. Before Naruto knew what happened, a dark tendril wrapped around his waist and tossed him roughly out of the ramen stand – making him fall face first in pavement.

Groaning in pain while holding his bleeding face, Naruto barked out across the street, "What the hell was that for Shikamaru?!"

Shikamaru simply crossed his arms and glared hard at Naruto.

Sakura could hold in the giggle and laughed at Naruto while also feeling sympathy for him, "I think Shikamaru is angry at the way you were looking his sister up and down."

Naruto blinked, his eyes catching the movement of the curtains of the ramen stand. Emerging from within the young woman from before stepped out with her arms crossed, "You should thank Shikamaru. He just saved your life."

Naruto quickly shuffled to his feet, the voice finally clicking in his head, "KANOKO?!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "I haven't changed that much, have I?" Kanoko looked over to her brother for confirmation.

Shikamaru gave his sister a bland look, "You're kidding right?"

Kanoko frowned at her brother before giving him a quick once over, "I think you've changed more than me. I didn't think you'd ever out grow out of that lanky, awkward stage your body was before. It's good to see you've grown up. You almost look like a man." Kanoko turned to Naruto and nodded to him, "You both do."

Shikamaru turned pink as he glared at his sister, his voice thick with sarcasm as he spoke, "Thanks sis. As always, you know just what to say to make me feel like an accomplishment."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Now I wouldn't go that far…" Kanoko paused as her eyes narrowed, "What is that seal?"

Shikamaru blinked, "Huh?"

Kanoko grabbed the edge of Shikamaru shirt and lanked it to pull it up. Shikamaru's hands quickly shot out to stop Kanoko, "KANOKO?! What the hell?!"

Sakura blushed and looked away when she caught a glimpse of Shikamaru's hard abs.

Shikamaru was able to knock his sister's hands away and glare at her. Kanoko met his glare with one of her own before hissing out, "I don't approve."

Shikamaru gave Kanoko an annoyed look, "Guess what? I don't answer to you."

The twins continued to glare at one and another, sparks flying back and forth.

Naruto finished cleaning off the blood from his face and came up to just behind Kanoko. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Kanoko turned from Shikamaru to look at Naruto. Naruto grinned sheepishly at Kanoko, "Come on. This is our first day back. Let's enjoy it and kill each other tomorrow. Pleeeease?"

Kanoko crossed her arms and gave Naruto a stern look before huffing out in annoyance. Turning to Shikamaru, the two exchanged irritated looks before Kanoko relaxed her shoulders, "Welcome home Shikamaru."

Shikamaru relaxed slower, but returned his sister's sentiment, "It's good to be back…"

Naruto grinned at the two of them, "Now it's time to party! Ichiraku Ramen style!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and snorted, "Is all that you think about?! Food?!" Just at that moment, Sakura's stomach growled as well.

Naruto grinned at Sakura, making the two Nara smirk lightly.

"I guess one bowl isn't a bad idea…" Sakura said sheepishly, but with a smile.

Kanoko smiled back lightly at her teammates, watching as they walked into the ramen stand. Kanoko looked over at her brother, who was still just outside the ramen stand, "Kaa-san is going to be upset with you."

Shikamaru sighed, "And whose fault is that? I told you not to tell her…"

Kanoko smirked, "Not that."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, wondering how he got in more trouble with his mother so quickly.

"Kaa-san made your favorite." Kanoko explained simply, "Though, if you leave now, you may still make it in time."

Shikamaru felt torn between chancing his mother's wrath and eating her homemade cooking – something he sorely missed. Looking at his sister from the corner of his eye, he spoke, "I don't suppose you'll come with me?"

Kanoko looked ahead, her eyes landing on the backs of her teammates. Smirking lightly, Kanoko looked back over at her brother, "You know I want to."

Shikamaru smirked, his face also softening as he looked over at Naruto and Sakura, "You know I'll be ok without you and that they'll need you, if you all have any chance of defeating your sensei before morning."

Kanoko chuckled lightly, "Two and a half years with Naruto and I can't help but feel like he's had a better influence on you than I."

Kanoko felt a hand land on her shoulder.

"No, you taught me that – to put others above your own needs and wants." Shikamaru smiled softly at his sister.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow.

Shikamaru returned the look with a raised eyebrow of his own and a smirk on his face, "You don't remember?"

.

"You taught me that, the day you sent me away."

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* * *

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 **Author's Note:**

 **I'm alive! But just barely… Sorry for the disappearing act! I was caught up in long hours at work, then I was in a bicycle accident, and finally, I drank too much and gave myself alcohol poisoning… In any case, we are back on track!**

 *****This chapter was only edited by me. My amazing beta tried to review the chapter for me, but I'm an idiot and can't seem to operate google docs anymore.*****

 **Let me know what you lovely people think!**

 **.**

 **Last note: I drew a picture of Kanoko after the time skip when I started writing this story. It is on deviantart, here:**

 **Ht**tp*:*/*/*krista06*.*deviantart*.*com*/*art*/Nara-Kanoko-Timeskip-644394779**

 ***Don't forget to remove the "*"!**


	39. Shippuden Chapter 2

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Tsunade stared blankly at the sake cup in her hand. She was currently residing in small pub within the village of Konoha. The lighting was dim and flickering, but Tsunade did not notice as her mind was running through a million thoughts.

"Wow. Things must be bad if you're not drinking yet – especially when the booze is within grasp."

Tsunade looked up, giving the person who spoke a slightly annoyed look. Recognizing the white haired toad sage Tsunade snorted, "Jiraiya. Bout time you showed your face." Tsunade brought the sake glass up to her lips and downed the shot.

Jiraiya chuckled deeply at his old teammate as he slide into the seat across from her, "Had to finish up a few things. You wouldn't want me to come back with a partial report, would you?" Jiraiya grinned at Tsunade's glare as he quickly ran through a couple hand signs and placed a seal on the table. The grin fell from Jiraiya's face as he turned serious, "You aren't going to like what I have to say."

Tsunade exhaled, her eyes closing as she leaned back in the booth, "I didn't send you out expecting you to bring back reports about unicorns and mermaids." Tsunade's eyes opened with a sharp look, "What should we be expecting?"

Jiraiya's shoulders sag, "Honestly? I'm still not entirely sure. So much of the Akatsuki is still unknown – their end game goal, their leaders, their members. All I can tell you is that they are all on the same level as Uchiha Itachi and terrifies even Orochimaru."

Tsunade sighed, "Which is a topic for another time, but one we need to address." Tsunade's jaw tightened, "Every mission I send Uchiha Sasuke on, his minions make an appearance. The boy hasn't been made aware of the true threat of the situation yet, but that damn Nara knows and is quite vocal about it."

Jiraiya chuckled lightly, "It's good to know that I wasn't the only one being driven to an early grave by a demon spawn of Shikaku these last two and a half years."

Tsunade snorted and rolled her eyes, "Back to our current, pressing problem."

Jiraiya nodded, "The Akatsuki…" The toad sage paused, "While we don't know what their ultimate goal is, we know what their next step will likely be."

Tsunade stiffened, "You don't mean…" Tsunade's eyes focused out, "Naruto…"

Jiraiya didn't respond. He took a moment to think before crossing his arms, "You know… Someone said something interesting to me today."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "What does this have to do with the Akatsuki?"

"I was speaking to someone, in regards to the group." Jiraiya started, looking Tsunade in the eye, "I expected them to react the same way you did, however… Their first instinct was to ask about the Sand's Jinchuriki, Gaara the Kazekage."

Tsunade frowned, "How is that strange? The Akatsuki are after the tailed beasts."

Jiraiya nodded, "Yes, but their worry for the Kazekage, specifically, is what really caught my attention. They said if the Sand lost their Kazekage, in the state they are in now, the Village Hidden in the Sand would collapse." Jiraiya leaned over the table, "Think about it! The Sand is leaning heavily on us right now. Medical expertise, training methods for recruits, mission support – hell, we're even sending shinobi over their regularly to help with the day to day functions within the village."

Tsunade crossed her arms, "Suna lost a lot in the invasion during the Chunin Exams three years ago. Shinobi, leaders, support from their Daimyo, their reputation…" Tsunade shrugged, "And after our _**incident**_ with the Cloud, we had to throw as much support towards the Sand and surrounding shinobi villages to show the other nations that, while we weren't looking for another fight, if they wanted one…"

Jiraiya nodded, "You'll have no argument from me. It was the best choice, given the position we were in at the time – one that I think sensei would have approved of." Jiraiya paused slightly before continuing, "That's why what this person said resonated so strongly with me. If I was an organization, independent of all the great nations, with a small, but strong group of shinobi I would make every effort to cripple the five great nations in the most efficient way possible."

Tsunade crossed her arms, looking up to think about Jiraiya's insight, "So, you're saying it would be like hitting two birds with one stone. They would have the one-tailed beast and would destroy the Sand in the process, making their goals – whatever they may be – that much easier."

Jiraiya nodded, "Exactly."

Tsunade exhaled deeply again before rubbing her forehead, "Why did I take this job…"

Jiraiya barked out a laugh, "Because a blue eyed blonde with an iron will and hero complex hit you where it hurt."

The blonde Senju glared at her old teammate. Eyeing the sake bottle, Tsunade grabbed it and poured herself another glass. Knocking the drink back, Tsunade looked at the empty cup as she spoke, "The Sand has many hardworking, utterly loyal, and downright vicious shinobi, but what they have in tenacity, they lack in expert shinobi." Tsunade placed the glass on the table between them as she looked at Jiraiya, "Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame of the Mist… Both terrifying opponents for seasoned jounin. Sending our best to Suna on a hunch that could last who knows how long…"

Jiraiya leaned back with a hand on his chin, "And we have no real way of knowing just how many shinobi, or who, they would send to retrieve the Kazekage. Taking down a Jinchuriki is no easy feat."

Tsunade looked down at her glass, her finger tapping on the side as her mind raced with doubts and regrets.

"What if we created a trap?" Jiraiya asked, shocking Tsunade's out of her thoughts we such a ridiculous statement.

"Are you kidding me?! Tricking an organization made up of Itachi-like shinobi?!" Tsunade balked, "Did a woman finally get a good hit in and you've officially lost it?!"

Jiraiya shook his head, "Hear me out. We know these Akatsuki members travel in pairs. Even when they stole the Seven-Tailed Beast from the Waterfall Village, there was only two – one doing most of the work." Jiraiya pulled a piece of paper and scroll from his pockets and started doodling on it, "The place where the beginning of the Chunin Exams that Naruto took part in – The Demon Desert Checkpoint – is practically an abandoned lookout. No innocent civilians to get in the way and the perfect spot to hold a _**treaty signing meeting**_ – or something like that."

Tsunade frowned, "You're going to have to explain more of your crazy plan before I'll even considered the fact that you haven't lost your marbles."

Jiraiya sighed before continuing, "It's simple. We let information "slip" that Konoha is pressuring Suna into signing an agreement – make up whatever you want, but it has to be believable and read in such a way that makes Konoha look like the bad guy. We also let information slip that Konoha representatives – not you, because Konoha can't be bothered to send it's Hokage – will be meeting the Kazekage at the Demon Desert Checkpoint to sign the agreement. We need to dress this up in a way that makes Suna citizens resent Konoha – not to the point of violence, but close."

Jiraiya pulled out some other papers – reports – summarizing information from past missions, "The bombing on certain villages, the assignation of high ranking officials, supplying radical groups with food and weapons – all of these acts committed by Akatsuki members points to one goal: Starting war between the great nations." Jiraiya pointed his pen back down at the paper he was writing on, "If we create the perfect bait: The Kazekage – a Jinchuriki and the leader of the Sand – in a slightly vulnerable location to sign a hostile treaty created by the Leaf? They won't be able to pass up the chance to attack."

Tsunade rubbed her chin as she stared down at the paper. After a few moments of silence, Tsunade's eyes snapped up to meet Jiraiya's, "What if it's too good? And they send more than we can handle?" Tsunade frowned, "For this to work, we will only be able to send a couple small units to defend the Kazekage and defeat the Akatsuki members present. Two Uchiha Itachis is terrifying enough, but four? Eight? Thirty?"

Jiraiya sighed heavily and crossed his arms, "I don't know if we really have any other choice. It's only a matter of time until they make their move. Wouldn't you prefer their first attack to be one we are expecting, even if we don't know the exact details?"

Tsunade sighed, "I can't afford to make those kinds of gambles, Jiraiya." Tsunade turned her head to look down the pub's walkway, "A lot of people think they know what it's like to be the Hokage, but they have _**no idea**_ what it's like to be the Hokage." Tsunade's eyes hardened, "I start my morning writing letters and speaking to mothers, father, wives, husbands – telling them that not only are their loved ones never coming home, but where they died, how they died, what they were doing that was so important that is cost them their lives… And that's the highlight of my day. It only gets worse from there…"

The Senju heiress turned back to Jiraiya, "What do I tell the families of the shinobi I send out that die? I need more information on this group before I'm willing to send my shinobi out to die." Tsunade's frown deepened, "And even worse, if the Kazekage is captured or killed, it will mean war – and not just with the Sand."

Jiraiya's shoulders sagged, understanding his old teammate's resistance, but feeling strongly about being proactive rather than reactive. Leaning his head back on the top of the chair, Jiraiya stared at the ceiling, " _What we need is an escape plan if things turn badly…_ "

Jiraiya's head snapped forward, making Tsunade raise an eyebrow at his while bringing another cup full of sake to his lips. Jiraiya grinned widely as he placed his hands on the table, "What we need is a foolproof escape plan!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes as she tipped the sake glass and started to down the alcoholic drink, " _Of course we need an escape plan. I thought I made that clear…_ "

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Jiraiya's grin widened into a sly smirk, "And her name is Nara Kanoko."

Tsunade choked on her sake before spewing out all over the table and her old teammate.

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* * *

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"Achoo!" Kanoko sneezed loudly, rubbing her nose in annoyance afterwards.

Shikamaru looked up from his scroll and raised an eyebrow at his sister, "I didn't know demons could get colds."

Kanoko rolled her eyes at her brother, "Haha, very funny."

Shikamaru was lounging about in Kanoko's room when Kanoko walked in looking just the same as the last time he saw her – barely a scratch on her. It was quite late in the night – meaning their parents had long since gone to bed – and the room was barely lit with only a couple desk lamps on. Shikamaru was reclining in his sister's desk chair with one of his legs crossed over his knee and a scroll in his hands. Kanoko walked over to the other side of the room before picking up a jar and starting to apply the ointment to some dark marks on her skin.

"Do you need help?" Shikamaru asked with a drawl, his eyes still fixed on the scroll below.

Kanoko looked up from her work and raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

Shikamaru frowned before sighing dramatically, "Troublesome… Your burns. Do you need help applying the salve?"

Kanoko paused before looking down. Shrugging, Kanoko spoke, "They're old wounds. I just didn't get time today to address them and they itched. Nothing that needs to be done tonight." Kanoko paused to think, "Or is it morning?" Kanoko shrugged, not committing to a time of day.

Shikamaru's brows furrowed as he dropped the scroll to his lap, "Old wounds? How bad of burns are we talking here?"

Kanoko snapped the lid on jar of healing salve Hinata gave her and placed it on the shelf with the rest of her first aid supplies, "Don't worry about it."

Shikamaru frowned, his eyes narrowing before letting the topic drop. He wasn't getting anything out of his sister she didn't want to share. Fifteen years as Kanoko's twin had taught him that if he wanted to know something his sister refused to tell him than he had to find other ways of acquiring the information.

Rolling up the scroll, Shikamaru tried another topic, "How was the showdown between the three of you and Kakashi?"

Kanoko shrugged, "We showed up at our old training grounds like planned, but all that was there was a note from Kakashi saying he would reschedule with us later. Sakura and Naruto assumed it was something to do with some book – I wasn't really paying attention at that point – but when I extended my senses to find him, he was in the Hokage's tower."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "A mission? So soon?" The Nara heir frowned, "The Fifth Hokage seemed pretty set on the three of you testing your abilities against your sensei…"

Kanoko frowned, "I am a jounin. I don't require my abilities to be tested. Again."

Her brother smirked, bringing the scroll up to read again, but not before muttering, "Watch it. That Uchiha pride is starting to rub off on you…"

Kanoko ignore her brother as she started to unbutton her top. Kanoko shook off her outer layer and grabbed a hanger before hanging the vest/shirt in her closet. Turning around, Kanoko crossed her arms and gave her brother an annoyed look.

Shikamaru sighed dramatically, dropping the scroll onto his lap again before returning his sister's annoyed look with a lazy look of his own, "What?"

"This is my room." Kanoko told him plainly.

Shikamaru's eyes drifted back to his scroll as he drawled out, "Wow. Is the sky blue too?" Shikamaru made a pathetic explosive sound while imitated an explosion with his hand next to his head, "Mind. Blown."

Orange eyes narrowed, "Get. Out."

Shikamaru picked up his feet and crossed them at his ankles on his sister's desk while crossing his arms behind his head. Letting out a yawn, Shikamaru drawled, "Nah. Thanks for the offer though. I like it here just fine."

Kanoko's eye twitched dangerously. Walking swiftly over to her brother, Shikamaru squeaked out in surprised as his sister slung him over her shoulder with ease – like a sack of potatoes.

"Kanoko!" Shikamaru called out, pushing on her back with his arms as he tried to break free.

"You're the one acting like a child." Kanoko told him with an annoyed tone, "I just decided to treat you like one."

Shikamaru bitched some more about sibling abuse and disrespecting her elders as Kanoko made her way to her door. With a loud thud Kanoko roughly dropping her brother in the middle of the hallway. Shikamaru groaned loudly as he hit the floor. Rubbing his head, he looked up at his sister, "Come on… The guest bed is not made up and I'm **tired.** "

"Not my problem." Kanoko said plainly before slamming the door in her brother's face.

The former Hokage rolled her eyes at the whining she heard through the door before lifting the edge of her shirt to pull it off. Turning around, Kanoko froze in her actions when she caught sight of the dead weight sitting on her bed.

Shikamaru yawned as he stretched on the bed, "It might be your room, but if I remember correctly… It's my bed. So, technically-"

Shikamaru didn't get to finish his reasonable argument as Kanoko grabbed a pillow off of her bed and whack him in the head with it – hard.

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* * *

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"Morning…" Shikamaru mumbled out with a yawn as he walked into the kitchen.

Yoshino turned around quickly with her wooden spoon in hand, "Just because you've been gone for nearly three years doesn't mean things in this house has change! Your father is starting to get old, which means you need to start helping him with the deer!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Shikamaru drawled as he grabbed a piece of toast and sat at the table.

Already sitting down, eating their own breakfast, were his sister and father. Shikaku looked up from his paper to give his wife a doe eyed look, "Old?"

Yoshino ignored her husband as she continued to finish cooking breakfast while ranting at her son, "And since you're moving back in, that just means another person to clean up after, so I'll need you to get groceries every few days – and you better not be swindled by that awful vegetable merchant!"

Shikamaru groaned as he head hit the table, "Why can't Kanoko do it? She's better at it…"

Kanoko looked over to her brother while raising an eyebrow. Kanoko didn't get the chance to argue with her brother before her mother started up, "You're sister has really stepped up in the village since you've left! Part-time teacher at the academy, on missions every week, helping that lovely Uchiha boy rebuild his clan's compound, training with your teammates in your absence…" Yoshino grinned widely, looking excited, "Did you hear that your sister is a jounin now?!"

Yoshino walked over and placed some food on Shikamaru's plate before giving the leftovers to Kanoko. Shikamaru looked at his small portion before glaring lazily at his sister's large one. Yoshino beamed at her daughter, completely oblivious to Shikamaru's look, "My daughter is going to be the next Hokage! I'm so proud!"

Kanoko couldn't hold in the smirk as she started to take a few bites of her food. Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he started to take a bite of his own, sad, portion of food.

"Which reminds me!" Yoshino said excitedly as she walked over to the kitchen to place the frying pan she was carrying into the sink, "It's about time we start talking about possible matches, darling. I know the average lifespan of a shinobi is ever increasing in these times of peace, but your father and I were engaged when we only a little older than you and you need to start dating around to get a feel for what kind of person you want to spend the rest of your life with!"

Kanoko started choking on her food, not seeing that coming at all. Shikamaru slapped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud while Shikaku went white as a ghost, the paper in his hands dropping to the ground.

Yoshino kept going, obvious to her family's reaction, as she started scrubbing the dishes, "You spend most of your time with that Uchiha boy and he's very polite, not to mention cute – why don't you ask him? Oh! Or what about that Hyuuga boy - the one always helps me carry home groceries so he can say hi to you?! So cute!" Yoshino suddenly turned pink, "You know, I used to have the biggest crush on Aburame Shibi before your father seduced me. Why don't you ask his boy out? You work with him at the academy right?"

Shikamaru stopped laughing, suddenly finding the situation no longer funny.

"KAA-SAN!" Kanoko yelled, her face beet red from embarrassment and nearly suffocating.

Shikaku sighed heavily as he bent to pick up his paper, "Honey… Noko-chan's still young… And like you said, she's really busy and doesn't have time to find a reject – I mean, boy… Just let her be…"

Yoshino lifted her scrubbing brush and pointed it at Shikaku with a firm look, "I know perfectly well how busy our daughter is, but this is just as important!" Yoshino threw her hands in the air, "What if all the good men die off or get married, and she's stuck with a man just as lazy as her father?! No! No! I won't allow it!"

Shikaku sighed again before mumbling, "I love you too, honey…"

Yoshino viscously started scrubbing the dishes as she continued to rant, "And if she marries a man like that, he'll just drag her down and she'll never be the Hokage – instead spending the rest of her days playing the part of the faithful housewife-"

Yoshino stopped speaking when she looked up and found her two children nowhere to be found. Her dark eyes narrowed on her husband – who looked just as surprised to see his kids gone. Yoshino tossed her sud filled sponge at Shikaku's head, making the clan head groan as soapy water ran down his face.

" _Why did I have kids?_ " Shikaku thought, trying not to make eye contact with his steaming wife.

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Kanoko walked down the merchant district of Konoha, her long hair floating lightly behind her as she took a quick look at the shops setting up. Her brother had left her before they hit the main part of the village, saying something about checking in with Asuma-sensei and seeing how the gift of fatherhood was treating him. Now, Kanoko was quickly perusing the shops while making her way to her teammate's apartment – with high hopes her teammate would not invite her in. That was a place she wished to never step into again.

"Kanoko!"

Kanoko was pulled out of her thoughts when she turned in the direction of the voice calling out to her. Seeing a familiar brunette waving to her from one of the booths, Kanoko walked up with an expressionless look on her face, "Good morning Tenten." Kanoko's orange eyes scanned the booth's goods, "I didn't know you sold weapons – although it would make sense, given your appreciation for them."

Tenten laughed as she put a box of kunai knives on the table, "They're not mine. I just help out the merchant who sells them and in turn, I get a hell of a discount on anything I buy!"

Kanoko nodded while still scanning the items, "Have anything of interest?"

"Just the basic stuff." Tenten replied, "The old man doesn't bring the good stuff out until later, but you probably won't be interested in any of it – given what you already have! I am so jealous of your Blade of the Thunder Spirit!"

Kanoko shrugged, "The craft is decent, but isn't perfect. A good hit would probably crack the blade." Kanoko said before thinking, " _Definitely not my best work, but dangerous enough to be a threat…_ " The former Hokage shook her head, "I don't own it anymore, anyways. I gifted it to Sasuke as a congratulations present for making jounin."

Tenten's eyes rose, "Decent craft?! Are you kidding me?! The Second Hokage made that blade!"

Kanoko shrugged before looking back towards the growing crowd, "Well, Tenten, I apologize, but I was on my way to catch Naruto before he starts causing trouble for the day. It was good to see you."

"Wait!" Tenten called out, "The reason I called you over here was to tell you that Neji was looking for you."

Kanoko frowned.

Tenten raised her hands, "I know, I know! But hear me out. Neji's really sorry about last time and he wants to apologize. Promise!"

Kanoko gave Tenten a slightly annoyed look before exhaling, "Where and when…"

Tenten grinned widely, "Tonight, about 8pm at your team's old training ground!"

"Got it." Kanoko responded plainly, "If I have time, I'll drop by."

"I'll tell him!" Tenten replied happily.

" _You do that._ " Kanoko thought as she waved to her friend and walked away.

Walking down the street for a while, Kanoko turned left and started to climb the stairs to Naruto's place. Making her way to the door with a taped on paper with an orange swirl in the center, Kanoko knocked lightly on the door.

"What? Who's there?!" A scratchy voice from the other side called out.

Kanoko gave the door a blank look, "It's your teammate."

There was a pause on the other side of the door before the sounds of shuffling occurred, "Sakura-chan?!"

"Idiot." Kanoko responded, "Do I sound like Sakura to you?"

The door swung open. Kanoko was greeted with the annoyed look of one Uzumaki Naruto, "Yes. Or else I wouldn't have asked." Naruto responded with irritation in his voice before adding, "Idiot."

Orange eyes narrowed, "I forgot how much I enjoyed your presence."

"And I forgot how much I enjoyed looking at your ugly mug." Naruto replied with his face scrunched up, "It's too early to piss you off, why are you here?"

Kanoko slowly raised an eyebrow, "It's 8am. And I'm here to pick you up so we can meet up with Sakura. Remember, Kakashi-sensei is supposed to reschedule our test for today."

Naruto crossed his arms, "I almost forgot that bastard just left us hanging! After all that trouble I went through to get him a present!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you get him a book your temporary sensei writes? How difficult could acquire such a book been?"

Naruto huffed as he turned his head, "That's not the point!"

Kanoko rolled her eyes, "I care not. Just get dressed so we can meet up with Sakura."

Naruto blinked before looking down. He was in nothing but his black boxers and crystal necklace – showing off his chiseled chest and six-pack, "AHH!" Naruto screamed, slamming his door in Kanoko's face.

Kanoko waited patiently with her arms crossed until the commotion from within the apartment calmed down and Naruto stepped out – dressed in his long white coat and dark under garbs. Naruto locked the door behind him before standing close to Kanoko, "What were you looking at perv-"

Naruto cut himself off when it occurred to him, standing close to Kanoko for the first time since coming home, that he was **looking up**.

.

.

.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TALLER THAN ME?!" Naruto screamed, grabbing Kanoko's collar and pulling her down.

"I'm only four centimeters taller than you. Calm yourself." Kanoko told him, pushing him off of her.

Naruto crossed his arms and started muttering to himself, cursing kami and his sense of humor. Kanoko ignored her teammate's muttering and started walking in the direction of Sakura's chakra signature.

Naruto looked up to see Kanoko walking down his stairs and quickly caught up to her, "So where are we going?"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Are you deaf or are simply not listening to me? We are going to meet up with Sakura."

Naruto smirked, "It's the not listening to you part, but that wasn't what I was asking. Shikamaru told me your skills as a sensor far exceeds the standard sensor's abilities. You can find anyone within the Land of Fire if you concentrate hard enough."

Kanoko frowned, suddenly wondering how much her brother told Naruto about her. She trusted the blonde idiot, but there were some things she liked to keep just between her and her brother, "The Hospital."

Naruto nodded, folding his arms behind his head as he walked, "So Sakura really did become a medic…"

Kanoko nodded as they walked, "One of the best students Tsunade has ever had, according to Shizune. All of the Konoha 13 would agree, pardon you and Shikamaru for obvious reasons. I, in particular, have witnessed Sakura's genius first hand."

Naruto gave Kanoko a concerned look, "I remember Shikamaru hitting the ground, holding his stomach in pain while we were gonr. He was a mess for a bit, but was fine after a while… You never did respond when I asked you what happened."

Kanoko continued to stare ahead as they walked in silence. Buildings passed by as they made their way to Konoha's hospital, neither speaking.

" _How long is she going to give me the silent treatment?_ " Naruto thought as he took a look around at all the buildings, seeing a few places he didn't recognize as they walked. Shifting his eyes to take a peek at Kanoko, he couldn't help but stare at her long brown hair, " _I wonder why she decided to wear it down. She always complained about her hair and how she wanted to cut it, but didn't want to upset Aunty…_ " His blue eyes traveled down before snapping away with a light dusting of pink on his cheeks, " _She still acts like an old man, but she sure doesn't look like one…_ "

The white brick walls of the large building in question came into view when Kanoko finally spoke, pulling Naruto roughly from his thoughts, "We're here."

Naruto turned his head from Kanoko to look up at Konoha's Hospital, "Well, what are we waiting for?" Naruto twisted his head to grin at Kanoko and he ran towards the doors, "Let's go get Sakura-chan!"

Kanoko shook her head, but followed after slowly with a small smile on her face.

The two made it to the nurse's desk and waited for Sakura to come out and join them. Naruto, ever the restless teen, start pacing back and forth. Kanoko crossed her arms as she leaned her back against one of the pillar with her eyes closed. After feeling Naruto pass her for the fiftieth time, Kanoko drawled out, "You're pacing won't make her come out any faster."

Naruto huffed, "Why don't we just go get her? You know where she is!"

Kanoko nodded, "I do, but this is a hospital. We will wait patiently for her to come to us."

Naruto stuck his tongue at Kanoko, "Is it exhausting, constantly being a stick in the mud?"

"Only when in the presence of hyperactive blondes with a death wish." Kanoko responded plainly.

Naruto opened his mouth to respond when the flash of pink hair caught the two members of team Kakashi's attention.

"Naruto! Kanoko!" Sakura called out with a large grin, "Sorry about the delay! I was in the middle of surgery."

Naruto's eyebrows rose, "You're a surgeon now?!"

Sakura scratched the back of her head, "Not yet! I was just helping out and getting more experience under my belt." Sakura turned to Kanoko and grinned, "How was the walk over here?"

"Exhausting." Kanoko replied without missing a beat.

Naruto glared as Sakura giggled.

"Oh!" Sakura said suddenly, remembering why her teammates were here, "I have news!"

Naruto turned to his pink haired teammate, "About what?"

"Our test!" Sakura said with a grin, "Kakashi-sensei caught me when I was leaving Shizune's office this morning. He said the Hokage called him in last night and our mission parameters have changed. He wants us to meet him at the training grounds on the outskirts of Konoha – the one near the waterfall."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "That far out? Did he say what this was about or what time?"

Sakura shook her head, "No, but he did say to show up before noon."

Naruto looked up at the clock above the nurses station, "It's almost ten now. We should head out now and scan the area before Kakashi-sensei shows up."

Kanoko's and Sakura's head snapped towards Naruto, eyes wide in shock.

"What?" Naruto asked with a shrug, "Is there something on my face?"

Kanoko frowned before scoffing and muttering underneath her breath as she walked away, "I tell him, time and time again, to be aware of his surroundings, to scout the area before meeting an enemy – all the things a good shinobi does before a fight, but does he listen? No. Then my lazy bastard of a brother tells him and suddenly it makes perfect sense to him. Damn Uzumakis and their incessant need to be the most frustrating individuals on the face of the planet…"

Sakura leaned in close to Naruto and whispered, "What the hell is wrong with her?"

Naruto shrugged, "Maybe she didn't get a good night's sleep." Naruto's face turned sour as he remembered a certain Nara heir and his need to strangle things in his sleep, "Yeah… I'm positive that's what it is."

Sakura nodded slightly confused, but went with it, "Well, in any case, we should head out."

Naruto agreed and the two walked out of the hospital not far behind their taller teammate.

.

.

* * *

.

After checking the area for traps, Team Kakashi picked a spot near the edge of the water and waited patiently for their sensei to show. Naruto was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his hand. Sakura was just a few feet away, writing notes on a journal while reading a book on field surgeries. Kanoko was the only one standing, her arms crossed as she stared at the crashing water from the small waterfall. The area was fairly clear of trees, leaving a wide open area for sparing, and at the bottom of the waterfall was a decent pool of water.

"Why is Kakashi-sensei _**always**_ late?" Naruto groaned out.

Sakura nodded, looking up from her book, "Shishou is always yelling about it too! You think he'd at least be on time for the Hokage!"

Kanoko ignored her teammates. She didn't understand why they were always so surprised and upset by their sensei's tardiness. As much as Kakashi's lack of etiquette and basic human decency irritated her, Kanoko had long since come to terms with it – especially when she has bigger concerns with the copycat ninja. Like the fact that he essentially gets paid for "teaching" young, impressionable minds when she's the one doing all the heavy lifting.

"Yo!"

" _Speak of the demon…_ " Kanoko thought, turning her head to see Sakura and Naruto glare at the silver haired shinobi.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, "My bad… I saw this older lady struggling with-"

"Can it!" Naruto shouted with his arms crossed.

"Yeah!" Sakura added, "We don't believe it so stop wasting precious air!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow at the two before turning her eyes to the shocked jounin. Chuckling, Kanoko spoke softly to her sensei, "I do believe you've made them quite angry."

Kakashi gave his tallest student a bland expression, "Observant as always, Kanoko-chan…"

Kanoko shrugged, but kept the smirk firmly on her face.

"You going to tell us why you called us out here or not?" Naruto asked, a frown on his face.

Kakashi raised his hands and sighed, "First you tell me to shut up and now you want me to speak… No respect for your old sensei I see…"

Kanoko snorted, "Respect? When did we ever start respecting you?"

Kakashi's eye twitched before pointing to Kanoko and asking her teammates, "Has she been like this all morning?"

Kanoko glared at Kakashi while Naruto and Sakura nodded.

Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought before mumbling out, "Must be that time of-"

Dark energy flooded the area as Kanoko pulled out her sword and pressed the tip on Kakashi's neck. "Finish that sentence… I **dare** you."

Kakashi sweat-dropped before poofing to the other side of Naruto and Sakura. Keeping himself at a safe distance away from his murderous student, Kakashi clamped his hands together, "Anyways!" Kakashi paused to pull a timer out of his kunai pouch, "You have two hours."

Sakura was the first to speak, "To do what?"

Kakashi snapped his fingers, "That's right! I forgot to tell you…"

Naruto groaned loudly, "I never thought I'd **actually miss** pervy sage!"

Kakashi held a hand to his heart and looked crushed, "You **wound** me, Naru-chan!"

Naruto's head snapped up, "Wait, wait! _**Naru-chan?!**_ Over my dead body!"

Kanoko shook her head, "Idiot. Now he knows how much it bothers you and will use it all the time."

Naruto twisted his head around to growl at Kanoko, but was stopped by Sakura.

"ENOUGH!" Sakura shouted, raising her chakra powered fist and smashing it into the ground, making the earth at their feet shake before splitting open.

Kakashi and Naruto turned white as they landed on the ground, after jumping out of the way, while Kanoko simply crossed her arms and side stepped the mess.

Sakura dusted off her hands before shooting a nasty look at her male comrades, "I just spent the last three hours assisting a surgery and have a lot of studying to catch up on before my second one tonight and I don't have time to listen to the three of you bicker like old women!" Sakura lifted her fist in the air as hair started to flare in the air, "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

"Crystal." Naruto spit out quickly, not missing a beat.

Kakashi nodded, "Definitely."

"Good." Sakura told them, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

Naruto's blue eyes shifted quickly to Kanoko before looking away and mumbling, "How come Kanoko didn't get in trouble… She started it…"

"Naruto!" Sakura warned, making the blonde raise his hands in a sign of peace.

Kanoko chuckled quietly at her teammates before turning to Kakashi, "As you were saying?"

Kakashi coughed, "As I was saying… You have two hours to complete your task…" Kakashi's eye shifted from Sakura to Naruto and settled on Kanoko, "Your task is to gather all three bells."

Sakura and Naruto looked at Kakashi with curious eyes. "Kakashi-sensei." Sakura started, "Are you talking about the bell test? The one you put us through when we were genin?"

Naruto crossed his arms, "But we beat that one already – even if Kanoko nearly died by the end of it."

"Which is something I still haven't forgiven you for." Kanoko told Kakashi with her arms crossed and her orange-reddish eyes narrowed.

Kakashi laughed nervously before coughing, "It's sort of like that, but different." Kakashi tossed a bell at each of his students. Kanoko, Sakura, and Naruto all caught the bell tossed to them and held it up curiously. Kakashi smiled at his students, "You see, instead of trying to steal the bells from me, you're going to be trying to steal them from your teammates."

Sakura frowned, "You're telling us to turn against our teammates? Isn't that against everything you taught us?"

Kakashi placed a hand in his chin and looked up, "Hmmm… When you put it like that, I suppose it is…" Kakashi looked down at Sakura with a grin, "But teamwork isn't the purpose of this test."

"Then what is the goal here?" Kanoko asked with an annoyed tone, "Sakura has more than proved her abilities and capabilities as a chunin and medic on every mission she has gone on in the last two years and I'm a jounin. Why do you feel the need to test us in addition to Naruto?"

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed at Kanoko, "So you're too good to be tested with me, is that what you're saying?"

Kanoko scoffed and glared at Naruto, "Why do you think everything I say is an attack against you?"

"Because it is!" Naruto retorted back.

"Ugg…" Sakura groaned out, placing her hands over her eyes, "It never stops…"

"Children, children…" Kakashi said, trying to calm them down and failing miserably.

"You know what, I'm glad Kakashi-sensei chose to test me like this!" Naruto shouted, his fists tightening, "I'm going to have fun ripping that bell out that manicured, pampered hand of yours!"

Kanoko growled back, "Not as much fun as I'm going to have when I slam my fist into your pretty boy face before taking your bell!"

"You're on!" Naruto shouted, jumping back to make a hand sign, "Shadow clone jutsu!" Four clones appeared behind Naruto, all with angry scowls on their faces.

Kakashi's eye widened, "Wait! I didn't say start!"

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!" Kanoko shouted as water from the nearby river started swirling rapidly around her in the air.

Sakura and Kakashi quickly leaped out of the way as water smashed into the ground and trees around them. Naruto jumped into the air to avoid the water, giving Kanoko and opening. Kanoko raced forward and leaped into the air with her sword out.

Naruto cursed lowly as Kanoko brought her arm back to slice her sword through him.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out another clone, before grabbing its hand and using the clone as to pull himself out of the way.

Kanoko's sharp eyes snapped to where Naruto was pulled away by his clone and twisted her body around to block Naruto as he brought his kunai down on her. The two dropped to the ground and propelled towards one and another.

Naruto blocked Kanoko's sword with his kunai as he aimed a kick at her shin. Kanoko quickly side stepped and wrapped her hand around Naruto's wrist to bring him forward for a kick to the gut. Just as Kanoko's foot made contact, Naruto poofed away.

" _Clone._ " Kanoko thought with a scowl before rapidly searching the area with her chakra sensing ability.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted from above.

Kanoko easily sidestepped the attack, sensing him before he appeared, "Wind Style: Air Vacuum!" Small compressed air needles shot towards Naruto.

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!" Naruto shouted, his palms slapping together as he feet hit the ground. The air needles were pushed back as a burst of razor blade-like winds blew through the field.

Kanoko's scowl deepened as she teleported swiftly away. Landing on the surface of the water, where she had placed a floating tag for her to teleport to earlier, Kanoko watched as Naruto's wind jutsu ripped open the ground and sliced the trees to pieces.

" _His wind based attacks are quite formidable. He must have a great affinity for wind chakra…_ " Kanoko thought as she stood tall on top of the water, her arms crossed underneath her chest.

Naruto stood his ground back on land, his white coat whipping around behind him from the harsh winds. His blue eyes sharpened, " _Going out there is a mistake. Kanoko's an expert in water jutsus. I need to get her back on land…_ " Naruto's spare clones walked up beside him.

Kanoko smirked, "What happened to all that talk about ripping my bell from me?" Kanoko tossed her bell into the air before catching it and dangling it out, "Too chicken to face me on my own-"

Kanoko cut herself off when she felt a large spike in chakra coming from the blonde in question. Orange-reddish eyes narrowed as she watched Naruto and his clones create some kind of condensed chakra ball into the real one's hand.

" _That certainly looks like the start of the Rasengan, but… The chakra is different… Like he added wind chakra into it…_ " Kanoko made a few hand signs and took a defensive stance, " _I have a bad feeling about that attack…_ "

Naruto grinned while sweating as his chakra started to form into the shape of a large, swirling shuriken. Shifting his deep blue eyes across the water to his opponent, he called out, "Feast your eyes on this! An Uzumaki special!" Naruto roared as he swung his arm around, "RASENSHURIKEN!"

Kanoko's eyes went wide as she watched the massive chakra shuriken rapidly travelled over the water toward her, "Water Style: Water Wall!" Kanoko called out quickly, pouring an intense amount of chakra into her defensive jutsu to stop the oncoming attack. Running through more hand signs, Kanoko stretched her shadow over the wall create an extra layer of support, "Yin Style: Shadow Wall!"

Kanoko widened her stance, prepare to repel the attack, " _There's no way that attack's getting through. I've testing this out several times. Not even Sasuke's most powerful lightning jutsu can break through this barrier._ "

Naruto grinned confidently as he yelled, "You better move if you don't want to get split in two!"

Kanoko considered retorting back, but was pulled from her thoughts as the massive chakra energy slammed into her barrier.

.

.

.

Slicing through it like butter.

Shock covered Kanoko face for a second as she was forced to teleport back to her seal on land.

"Told you!"

Kanoko cursed as Naruto appeared next to her and slamming his fist into her shoulder. Kanoko, running off of years of reflexes, quickly grasped the fist while sucking in a gasp of pain. Moving through one handed seals at a speed Naruto's eyes couldn't keep up with, Kanoko sucked in air, "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!"

Naruto cried out in pain as water senbon stabbed into his front, forcing him to let go of Kanoko.

Leaping back as well, Kanoko skidded across the ground. Standing up slowly, Kanoko's scowl turned into a smirk.

Naruto panted slightly as his eyes narrowed, "What?"

Kanoko's smirk grew, "You've grown stronger. Part of me worried my lazy brother would rub off on you and you would waste the valuable time given to you."

Naruto straightened his stance and placed a hand on his hip with a smirk on his face, "Shikamaru's lazy, but he isn't as stubborn as I am. If anything, I think you'll find Shikamaru's not quite as lazy as he was before."

Kanoko chuckled, "That remains to be seen." The Nara heiress raised her sword and pointed it at Naruto, "I've underestimated you. I won't make that same mistake twice."

Naruto smirked back, the wind kicking up again and blowing his blonde strands and white coat to the side, "I promise not to hold back if you don't."

Kanoko smirked, "Deal."

No sooner than the words were out of her mouth, a thousand clones resembling Naruto flooded the area with a small gap around Kanoko. Kanoko shifted her eyes around, her smirk still firmly planted on her face, "That Uzumaki chakra never ceases to piss me off."

Naruto crossed his arms with pride before shouting, "Charge!"

Kanoko twirled her sword in her hand as the horde of clones charge at her. Kanoko smirked as she cut through the first one before grabbing another and tossing it into two more, " _I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at the brash attack style. Shikamaru barely listened to me when I was teaching him taijutsu and Jiraiya doesn't look like the taijutsu type._ "

"Rasengan!" Two clones shouted, several other clones surrounding them to provide chakra before popping away in a puff of smoke.

Kanoko smirked, " _Flying Thunder god Justu_!" The former Hokage appeared behind one of the clones with the Rasengan in hand. The clone's eyes widened as Kanoko grabbed its arm and flung them and their chakra dense attack towards the other, making the two Rasengans clash into one and another.

"Ahhh!" Some of the nearby clones shouted before popping away from the force of the two jutsus combining and exploding.

"We're not done yet!" A chorus of clones shouted, leaping towards Kanoko with their fists or feet raised for attack.

Kanoko shook her head in amusement as she started wrapping her arms around the incoming arms and legs and snapping them in half. Switching back to her sword, Kanoko jumped into the center of one of the Naruto clusters and began chopping them in half like trees.

Starting to fear for their lives, the clones started to disperse away from Kanoko. The brunette kunoichi raised an eyebrow as she cut a Naruto down that was trying to escape. Shouting out to the area, Kanoko taunted the real Naruto, "Is this you not holding back? I'm not impressed."

Naruto cursed lowly, " _Kanoko can't find the real me because all my clones share my chakra, but it's only a matter of time until she chops off all their heads like weeds… And I can't use my Rasenshuriken again today. Shikamaru warned me what the consequences were if I continued to use it…_ " Naruto watched as his teammate started indiscriminately casting lightning based jutsus into the groups of Narutos, making large cluster disappear in a puff of smoke.

"I promised I wouldn't hold back…" Kanoko called out, sliding her sword in her sheath, "And I won't."

Kanoko reached in her pocket and pulled out a thick stack of papers, holding them between her pointer and middle fingers. Rapidly making seals with her other hand, water started to form beneath her feet and covering the ground. Turning her eyes towards the real Naruto, Kanoko smirked, "You're fifty years too young to hide from me."

Naruto cursed as he and the clones around him started to make hand signs.

Pushing off the ground, Kanoko broke out in a run towards the real Naruto high in the trees. Determined to protect the real one, more than a hundred Narutos leaped towards Kanoko, throwing kunai, shuriken, and even a few with Rasengans in hand.

"Water Style: Water Dragon!" Kanoko called out in a deep voice, a slim dragon made of water forming from the water at Kanoko's feet and ripping through several Narutos. Kanoko used her mouth to hold the stack of explosive tags as she used both of her hands to make hand signs. Forming the last sign, Kanoko sucked air in through her nose and spit out the tags, making them shoot out and stick to anything in their path.

A large number of Narutos chasing Kanoko were either stopped in their tracks by the explosive tag sticking to them or forced to move and evade the flying papers.

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!" Naruto called out, sending more than half of the papers flying away from him and his clones.

"Ninja Art: Multi Explosive Tag Jutsu!" Kanoko shouted, activating the tags and setting the woods on fire with several small explosions.

Naruto hissed as he watched some of his clones catch on fire and pop into smoke. Spinning around, Naruto blocked an incoming kick from Kanoko. Kanoko's next attack came quicker than the next, which was followed by an even quicker assault.

Naruto felt the sweat pour down his neck and he pushed his body to keep up with Kanoko's quick onslaught of taijutsu moves.

Kanoko frowned as her feet hit a tree branch before propelling back towards Naruto, "Why are you holding back?"

Naruto hissed at Kanoko's punch connected with his jaw. Swinging his hand around and getting nothing but air, he responded with gritted teeth, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Kanoko's eyes narrowed as she teleported behind Naruto and wrapped an arm around his throat, pressing him tight up against her and choking him. With a deep voice, Kanoko spoke in his ear, "You spent two and a half years traveling with a sannin – a legend from the Second Great Ninja War – and my brother – a genius who I taught myself – and learned no greater tricks than the shadow clone jutsu and a more impressive Rasengan – which you've only used once."

Naruto gasped for air as he struggled to get out of his teammate's grasp, "Maybe you're just that good."

Kanoko's eye thinned further, "Another thing I don't trust. Humility." Kanoko's muscles tensed as she tightened her hold, making Naruto gasp audibly.

"Kan… Noko… Can't… Bre… Breath…" Naruto squeezed out.

"Then tell me. Why are you holding back? What's your endgame?" Kanoko growled at him.

Naruto pushed out a broken chuckled before smirking, "To… Take… The… Bell…"

Kanoko's eyes widened slightly as they snapped down to where she placed it on her hip. Her orange-reddish eyes snapped back to Naruto when she felt a spike in chakra. A soft glow caught her eye, realizing that on Naruto's back was an exploding seal – seconds from exploding.

" _A clone?!_ " Kanoko thought, tossing the Naruto in her arms away, " _There's no way he'd blow up himself!_ "

Naruto grinned as he spun around in the air, the glowing paper seal falling off of his back – showcasing its harmlessness.

Naruto quickly pour chakra into his hands, forming two Rasengans – one in each hand.

Kanoko cursed as she used her space time jutsu to teleport to Naruto, where she marked him on his arm the first time she grabbed him. Grabbing one of his arms, Kanoko pushed his Rasengan into the other in an attempt to cancel them out.

Kanoko's eyes widened as, instead of causing an explosion like she intended, Naruto rapidly adjusted the chakra density and swirl speed of both to the same amount – allowing the two to combine into one large Rasengan.

" _Dammit!_ " Kanoko cursed, about to let go so she could teleport away, but was stopped as two Naruto clones appeared from behind and pushed her further into the real Naruto.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted, pushing his large and dense Rasengan into Kanoko's side.

"Arg!" Kanoko cried out in pain as the ball of chakra smashed into her hip and waist, sending her into the ground below with the two Naruto clones still stuck to her like glue.

Kanoko pushed herself off the ground before grabbing the two Naruto's holding her down and smashing their faces into the dirt – making them poof into smoke.

Naruto grinned a few feet away, his arm out as he held up his teammate's bell. "You're right. I did learn something after spending two and a half years with Shikamaru and pervy sage!" Naruto placed the bell in his back pocket before explaining, "Pervy sage was always waaay stronger than me and Shikamaru is a tricky bastard that would make me run in circles all day long. It pissed me off, how they always beat me! So I had to come up with different tricks."

Kanoko dusted herself off, "So you promised to go all out, only to pretend you were weak, so I would call you out – giving you the opportunity to get close to me… Clever."

Naruto grinned, "I actually thought it would take a lot longer. It seems Shikamaru was right. Duckbutt's temper is rubbing off on you."

Kanoko rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, "My brother seems to think I'm ditching my ties with the Nara Clan to become an Uchiha. As if I'd willingly let that happen."

Naruto laughed out loud before curving his hand around his mouth and calling out, "Ok Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan! I have Kanoko's bell! I won, so you can come out now!"

The sound of silence greeted Naruto, making him frown. Turning back to Kanoko, he asked her, "Did they leave or something?" Naruto looked around, "We weren't that destructive…"

Kanoko shook her head with a slight smirk on her face, "It seems what you said about my brother's laziness dwindling is either untrue or is a recent occurrence."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, not following his teammate at all.

"I told my brother, before the three of you left Konoha, to teach you about identifying genjutsus and how to bring yourself out of one once you recognize it." Kanoko scoffed, "Clearly he didn't listen to me or was too lazy to follow through."

Naruto blinked, "Wait…" Suddenly, the world around him shifted – melting away from the lush green forest, to the wide open grassy area in front of the waterfall they were standing in before their fight began.

Naruto rubbed his eyes before twisting his head around, catching a bored looking Kakashi and Sakura shaking her head.

"I can't believe you didn't realize you were in a genjutsu!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, "And now Kanoko's won!"

Naruto blinked again before panicking and snapping his hand to where he left his bell on his belt. Hitting nothing but his side, Naruto twisted around to look for the bell.

"Looking for this?" Kanoko called out with a bland tone, tossing three bells into the air and catching them.

"Ahh! How'd you…!" Naruto cried out, pulling at his hair.

Kakashi sighed, "She placed a strong genjutsu seal on you, the first time the two of you exchanged punches. After you were stuck in your own world, she went after Sakura…"

Sakura sighed, rubbing her shoulder, "I may have trained with Lee and Gai, but Kanoko's been training with Sasuke… She was too fast for me to keep up with."

"ARGG! DAMN BASTARD!" Naruto shouted at the sky, "I thought for sure I was going to get you this time!"

Kanoko shrugged, "You may have – if you didn't have such a weakness to genjutsu." Kanoko placed a hand on her chin as she narrowed her eyes on Naruto, "We will have to fix that…"

Kakashi clapped his hands, "Well… Time's up anyways and Kanoko has the bells… So…"

Naruto crossed his arms, "Yeah, yeah! I get it. Kanoko's the winner…"

Sakura giggled at her teammate, "Come on Naruto, I lost too. Don't pout."

Kanoko turned to Kakashi-sensei, "I assumed you wanted to assess Naruto's skills. While I can't show you what transpired in my genjutsu, I can tell you that he more than qualifies for any mission assigned to Team Kakashi."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "You can see what happens in your genjutsus?"

Kanoko shook her head, "Just the ones created by seals and only after the seal is deactivated. Similar to the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"Wait, what?" Naruto started, "What's this about the clone jutsu?"

Kakashi sweat-dropped, "Let's hold that conversation for another day… I'm sure you guys have things to do and I need to give my report to the Hokage." Kakashi turned to Naruto and smiled, "After all, the sooner I let her know, the sooner we will get assigned a mission."

Naruto frowned, his arms crossed, "Don't think I'm letting you off the hook that easy. I'm not an idiot."

Kanoko chuckled lowly, "Easily pleased is more accurate, but Kakashi is right. He is already late in reporting to the Hokage. I'm sure if he waits too long, she's going to come looking for him – which is a bad thing for all of us."

Naruto went slightly pale, remembering how hard granny Tsunade's punches were, "I guess you're right." Naruto's blue eyes narrowed at Kakashi, "For now."

Kakashi nodded with a sweat-drop before waving to his students and disappearing in the wind.

Sakura turned to her teammates, "What now?"

Kanoko opened her mouth to respond when the large growl of Naruto's stomach cut her off. Naruto laughed nervously, "Ramen anyone?"

Sakura laughed as Kanoko sighed, "I guess…"

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The Nara heiress stared at the bright moon. It was just a sliver now, but was bright enough to light up the small clearing she was standing in. It was nearly 8pm. Kanoko almost didn't come, enjoying the easy and happy presence of her teammates as their spoke about the things each of them missed while off completing their own adventures.

"Kanoko." A calm voice spoke, pulling Kanoko from her thoughts.

Not moving her eyes from the moon, Kanoko responded with a deep voice, "Hyuuga."

Neji sighed heavily at Kanoko's indifferent attitude. Neji wore a long sleeved and plain kimono-like top, equally plain and loose pants, and a dark gray cloth around his waist – just a skirt away from the normal Hyuuga family garb. As he walked closer to Kanoko, he stopped a foot away from her – sensing her tense posture. Like an animal ready to pounce.

Scoffing at the ground, Neji grounded out, "I'm sorry, ok?"

Kanoko's eyes did not change as she moved them from the moon to the Hyuuga before her, "If you believe such an apology adequate, than you should not further waste your breath."

Neji frowned and sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose before continuing, "You know how it's been around here lately. The clans are a mess: The elders in charge are tightening their holds on those they see as inferior, protests in the streets are becoming more frequent, and more and more clan members are disappearing."

Kanoko did not respond nor acknowledge what Neji was saying.

Neji gritted his teeth, "Don't you care?! This isn't just a Hyuuga or Nara issue! This is affecting all the clans!"

Kanoko closed her eyes and crossed her arms, "You don't want to hear what I have to say, so why bother speak?"

"Because everyone's looking at you!" Neji shouted, "It doesn't matter if they're a branch member from the Hyuuga clan or a dish washer from the Akimichi clan, they're all looking at you! They see what you've done within the Nara clan, the way to continue to stand up to the monarchy – the old men who think they can play with and then discard our lives like shogi pieces – and are relying on you to give them hope and guidance!"

Kanoko frowned, "You and I both know that I am not that person."

Neji waved his hands in frustration, "Which is why I'm so angry! Why can't you? Why do you refuse to stand up for your people, the ones whose lives are just like yours – suppressed, abused, discarded, forgotten! Why are you so selfish, that you'll only fight for yourself and not anyone else?!"

"Because it's not myself I'm fighting for and that's what angers you the most." Kanoko told him with harsh eyes, "I would serve my role within the clan, without complaint – regardless of what that role would entail."

Neji growled, "But you don't because sitting back would mean allowing your brother to suffer. As if he has such a difficult life." Neji finished with a scoff.

Kanoko's chakra darkened, her voice dropping, "Watch yourself Hyuuga. You don't want to make the same mistake as last time."

Neji's face twisted with anger as he barked out, "I don't care! If you stopped worrying about your precious brother for one second and gave a damn about the rest of us, maybe this village wouldn't be so fucked up!" Neji stomped forward and grabbed Kanoko by her collar, pulling her forward, "You say that you care about this village, that it's the most important thing to you, but you're nothing but a liar and a sellout!"

Kanoko stared blankly at Neji, her face showing no emotion, "I don't care what you think of me."

Neji let go of Kanoko's collar as he pushed her back, "But you care what your brother thinks of you, right?"

Kanoko's orange eyes darkened, turning slightly red.

Neji scoffed, "What if I told him who you really are? What do you think he would think of you then?" Neji's tone deepened, "I wonder what emotion he'd feel the strongest? Pain? Shock? Shame? _**Disgust?**_ "

Kanoko hand snapped out and wrapped tightly around Neji's neck, pulling him in close while strangling him, "Do not think the Hyuuga's main branch are the only ones with the ability to activate that seal on your forehead. You push me and I will show you no mercy. There are far worse things than death." Kanoko finished by pushing Neji back and away from her.

Neji folded over as he gasped for air. Panting heavily, he turned his head up to meet Kanoko's deadly gaze with a glare of his own, "Yeah… There are far worse things than death…" Neji took another breath as he moved to stand tall, his pale eyes narrowing on the woman before him.

"Like living."

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Shikamaru looked up from his book as his sister walked in, looking a little worse for wear. Sitting up, Shikamaru called out to her, "Hey… What's up?"

Kanoko shook her head before mumbling, "Tired. Long day." Kanoko walked over to her dresser and started pulling out her night clothes. Grabbing them, she quickly made her way out the door and to the bathroom to change.

Shikamaru's dark brown eyes followed his sister as she traveled around and out the room. For as removed and difficult as she was, she didn't normally look this run down. When Kanoko walked back through the door to her room, she went straight for the bed Shikamaru was laying on and got in the covers – her back facing him.

Shikamaru frowned at his sister's back. Setting the book down, he leaned over to turn off the lights – figuring it was probably a smart move if his sister was really intending to go to sleep. She had a hard enough time sleeping regularly; he knew the flickering of lights wouldn't help her.

Stretching out, Shikamaru laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. After several minutes, Shikamaru turned onto his side to face his sister's back. Shikamaru stared at her long brown hair for several more minutes. Reaching out to play with the ends of her hair with his fingertips, Shikamaru spoke softly and quietly, "I know I didn't say it when I came home, but… I really missed you. As troublesome as you are… You're my sister – my twin sister. The person I know will always be there for me, just as I'll always be there for you. So just…" Shikamaru paused, his eyes dropping and a small yawn escaping, "Just… Let me be your big brother sometimes and let me know what's going on. Let me help you, even if it's something as simple as chasing off some idiot who doesn't know the meaning of boundaries."

Shikamaru paused to wait for his sister's reply. When the sound of shallow breathing hit his ears, he sighed softly.

Closing his eyes, Shikamaru yawned again – this time a little loud and longer – before speaking one last time, "I'll always love you, little sis… No matter what..."

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 **Author's Note: As of Wednesday, my work has allowed me to go back to my normal hours! Which means I'll actually have time to write! Yay!**

 **I actually wrote this chapter out last week, but didn't like the direction or theme, so I completely rewrote it this week. Sorry about that! Hopefully I'll stop being so picky!**

 **Please forgive the rawness of this chapter. I really wanted to get this out to you guys, but was unable to get it to my beta due to my stupid work schedule!**

 **Huge shout out to FREELANCEBUM (my beta) for continuing to put up with my difficultness!**


	40. Second Time's The Charm - Shippuden 3

**Author's Note: I made a goof last chapter. Kanoko is four** _ **centi**_ _ **meters**_ **taller than Naruto. Not inches. She's the same height as Shikamaru. I don't know what I was typing…**

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 _ **Age Eight**_

 _Kanoko leaned back in her father's office chair as she pondered over the problem before her. On top of the desk was a book on the biology of chakra in the human body._

" _There has to be a safe way of doing this. I can't possibly have been the first to come up with such a technique." Kanoko thought to herself, thinking about the chakra stealing seal she was in the process of creating. Kanoko closed her eyes in annoyance, "Perhaps that is the problem. The youth these days are so reckless and severely lack a proper understanding of the basics." Kanoko felt her annoyance start to boil as she thought about the academy she was forced into attending._

 _The young Nara shook her head, "No crying over spilt milk now. I have more pressing concerns at the moment…" Kanoko leaned forward and started making notes on a paper for later testing when she was pulled from her thoughts by the yelling of her new mother._

" _Kanoko!"_

 _The former Hokage sighed internally before slowly looking up, "In Tou-san's office, Kaa-san."_

 _A head peeked around the corner and blinked at Kanoko's hunched over form. Shaking her head, blaming her husband in her head for such strange kids, Yoshino called out to her daughter, "Kanoko honey, have you seen your brother?"_

 _Kanoko shook her head and followed up with, "I have not since breakfast."_

 _Yoshino gave Kanoko a narrow-eyed look, "Didn't I ask you to look after your brother today, since he was so adamant that he get to go the park today?"_

 _Kanoko stilled, quickly running through her memory banks. Staring blankly at Yoshino, Kanoko tentatively spoke, "I thought you were talking to Tou-san?"_

 _Yoshino raised an eyebrow and drawled out, "Because I often call my husband the name I gave my daughter."_

 _Kanoko resisted letting her eye twitch in annoyance as she thought, "And Yoshino wonders where Shikamaru gets his sharp and sarcastic tongue from…" Sighing in defeat, Kanoko hopped off the office chair and started towards the door – ignoring her mother's smug look._

 _On the other side of the front door, Kanoko took a quick look back and grumbled before walking forward towards town._

" _Back in my day, children Shikamaru's age were armed and already fighting for their clan! A little alone time in the safest village in the Land of FIre is nothing in comparison." Kanoko grumbled in her head as she moved closer to the village's children's park. Kanoko's dull brown eyes stared ahead as she pushed through the trees, "Why couldn't I have been reborn an only child? Didn't I suffer enough with enough insane brothers to last a couple lifetimes?!"_

 _Walking past the last tree, the park full of small children came into view. Kanoko's eyes lazily moved through the area for a certain spiky ponytail, "At least this one's quieter, I suppose…" Kanoko thought, thinking about her previous loudmouth of a brother, before her eye started twitching, "When it's not trying to strangle me to death…"_

 _Kanoko let her train of thought trail off as she continued to look back and forth – her eyes unable to find any sign of her twin. Walking forward into the madness, Kanoko started looking around all the objects in the park, thinking Shikamaru was taking a nap – per usual – in a place the other kids wouldn't disturb him._

 _After several minutes of searching, Kanoko was frustrated to find that there was absolutely zero trace of her brother. Whipping her head around, with her frustration growing, Kanoko reached out and grabbed a passing Naruto by the back of his collar – making him cry out as he was unexpectedly yanked back._

" _What's the big idea?!" Naruto shouted at Kanoko as he fumbled around to get out of Kanoko's death grip._

 _Kanoko ignored Naruto's attempts to escape and calmly, but firmly, asked the boy where her brother was._

 _Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, "How the hell should I know?!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at Kanoko and continued, "And I wouldn't tell you even if I did!"_

 _Kanoko's brown eyes narrowed. Pulling the blonde in close, Kanoko towered over him as she spoke evenly, "Was. My Brother. Here. Today." Kanoko leaked out some of her negative chakra for added effect._

 _Naruto just scoffed in her face again, completely unfazed by the negative chakra, "I ain't no snitch!"_

 _Kanoko felt her eye start to twitch uncontrollably as she thought, "This… child! Damn the Uzumakis for procreating… There's not a single one among them that hasn't sought to drive me crazy!"_

 _Forcing herself to calm down, Kanoko let Naruto go with a cold look._

 _Naruto blinked in surprise as he fell, not expecting Kanoko to let him go so easily. Grumbling as he stood up, dusting himself off as he did, he looked up at the taller Nara to give him a piece of his mind when he was stopped by a fist to the face._

" _AHHH!" Naruto called out, holding his face, "What was that for?!"_

 _Kanoko crossed her arms and looked down her nose at the blonde, "Are you going to tell me what I want to know or…"_

 _Naruto quickly scooted backwards, not wanting to get hit for a second time by the boiling female in front of him. Nodding his head vigorously, Naruto quickly spit out, "He was with Chouji! They went towards the forest with some other kids!" Naruto paused to grumbled, "_ _ **I**_ _wasn't invited…"_

 _Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "There's forest everywhere. You'll have to be more specific."_

 _Naruto blinked before looking around and thinking for a moment. Settling on a thought, Naruto pointed east, "I'm pretty sure they went that way."_

 _Kanoko grumbled lightly at Naruto's unassured statement before starting to walk in the direction._

" _Hey! Aren't you going to thank me?!" Naruto called out at Kanoko's back._

 _Kanoko resisted rolling her eyes and continued on her path without a pause in her step, "Just as loud and annoying as Masako… If she hadn't married a Nara I would have sworn he was a direct descendant of hers…"_

 _Stepping into the woods, Kanoko started cursing lowly, "This is ridiculous. The brat could be anywhere in here!" The former Hokage tried to push out her chakra to try to locate her twin, but found her range still too far limited. Pausing in her step, Kanoko grumbled lightly, "Where are you Shikamaru…"_

" _Come on! What are you, scaaared~?"_

 _Kanoko perked up at the noise of a child she didn't recognize right away._

" _Yeah! You just going to leave your friend down there?! Haha! Poor fatty! Not even his friend will help him out!"_

 _Kanoko pinched the bridge of her noise. Sighing heavily, Kanoko pushed through the last of the trees to see four children standing over her brother, who was hunched over a small cliff, looking down at where Kanoko supposed Chouji was._

 _Walking closer to the scene, Kanoko took a look at the four children and identified them immediately._

 _All of them were children two grades above Kanoko and her classmates._

 _The two smallest ones were twins like her and her brother. Both were a part of the Hyuuga Clan – children of a main branch member: Yuki and Yahiko – sons of Hyuuga Toshiro, a very unpleasant man. With the typical long dark hair with pale eyes, they could blend with any other Hyuuga, but among their own clan… They were easily recognized and avoided like the plague. Even if the two weren't conniving little devils that pulled "pranks" that even Naruto would think were cruel, the fear of angering their father alone was enough to keep the branch members silent and afraid._

 _The bulky monster of a child was Sarutobi Taro. Some say he is the result of an Akimichi and a Sarutobi while others speculate that he's actually four years older than he claims because he's too stupid to pass the academy's pathetic standards. Having met the boy on more than one occasion, she believes the latter._

 _And last… the bane of her existence since she was reborn into the Nara Clan – among several others really – was the mastermind behind the group's wicked ways: Nara Kuro. As the name would suggest, he is the ninth son of a family twelve. Despite being from a large, caring family, the boy was nothing but pure evil – at least if you asked the former Hokage._

 _Nara Kuro was prim and proper in every way that matter. He was the smartest among his family members, which was quite the feat in a Nara family, and had such a grand understanding of human nature and clan politics that Kanoko had suspicions at first if he was like her._

 _The idea was dismissed as he became an increasing annoyance to the former Senju._

 _Kanoko quickly learned of Kuro's aspirations to become a leader in the clan and the village, and had seen her as a stepping stone. Treating her especially nice – particularly in front of the adults – was her first clue that this boy was going to be a problem. Kanoko was not ignorant to what game he was playing and when she heard of the clan's interest in arranging a marriage between them…_

 _Kanoko's exact words to her parents were that she would "murder the small child before adulthood if such a thought was entertained, again"._

 _Yoshino just laughed and gushed over her daughter's strong independent way and told her friend the next day that Kanoko was not on the market for any arranged marriages because she needed to focus on becoming the next Hokage – something that the clan's female population was largely supportive of._

 _However, this information only served to anger Kuro – who had never had one of his plans fail before._

 _Which is likely why her brother and his friend had suddenly become the target of Kuro and his group of demon children._

" _Kuro!" Kanoko called out with a touch of authority in her voice._

 _Shikamaru whirled his head around to see his sister standing by the trees with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Quickly moving to his feet, he pointed down the cliff, "Kanoko! They pushed Chouji down the cliff! I can't get to him!"_

 _Kanoko's frown deepened as she felt worry start to flutter up. Chouji was her brother's best friend and honestly one of the kindest souls she had ever met. Quickly running over, Kanoko looked over the side of the cliff and let out a breath of relief. There was a ledge not far from the top and Chouji looked uninjured, but definitely scared._

 _Turning her head to the other Nara boy, Kanoko gave him a dirty look, "Just what excuse have you come up with this time?"_

 _Kuro looked back with a smug smirk, "I have no idea what you are talking about. My friends and I were simply playing ninja with Chouji and Shikamaru when Chouji lost his footing when Taro tagged him. Poor boy fell off the cliff."_

 _Kanoko's eyes narrowed, "And you haven't helped him up because?"_

 _Yahiko giggled to his brother and spoke loud enough to him for everyone to hear, including Chouji, "He's too fat to pull up by ourselves!"_

 _Yuki giggled back and smirked, "Haha, yeah! It'd take five men and a pulley system to get him out!"_

 _Kanoko took a peek down at Chouji to see him curl into himself._

" _Shut up!" Shikamaru growled at them, surprising Kanoko. Shikamaru's fists curled as his teeth gritted together, "And you're lying! Chouji and I were out here looking for…" Shikamaru went quiet and pink before continuing, "It doesn't matter! You guys are the ones that followed us out here and when you tried to push me off the cliff, Chouji got in the way and took the hit for me!"_

 _Kanoko blinked at her brother, a mix between surprised at the passion in his voice and surprised that things had gotten so bad that they were threatening her brother. Kanoko's eyes quickly sharpened and started to turn red as they landed on the four boys in front of her._

 _Shikamaru apparently wasn't finished because he kept going, "And the only fat person here is the ten-year-old retard who still wets the bed!"_

 _Kanoko's eyebrows shot up as Taro went beet red from embarrassment. The large boy started to sputter out an excuse before quickly turning to anger and charging straight for Shikamaru._

" _YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Taro shouted with his fist in the air._

 _Shikamaru went pale as he shut his eyes to take the hit – knowing he was too weak to take on the elder child._

 _Kanoko quickly intervened and grabbed Taro's wrist – spinning him around and slamming him to the ground with his arm twisted painfully behind his back. The boy tried to squirm under her, but Kanoko knew the boy couldn't use his chakra properly and used her own chakra to keep him in place. Grumbling internally in annoyance, Kanoko carefully knocked the squirming boy out._

 _Taro immediately relaxed and passed out, allowing Kanoko to get up from the boy and give Kuro and his minions a threatening look. Deepening her voice, Kanoko spoke, "I grow tired of your games Kuro, and I will not allow such actions against my brother go unpunished."_

 _Kuro scoffed as he crossed his arms, "I'm hardly afraid of a little girl, even one such as yourself, Kanoko. What are you going to do, cry to your daddy?" Kuro finished with a smirk._

 _Kanoko gave the boy a cold and indifferent look, "You think far too highly of me, Kuro. I am not above ruining another's life – be it through violence or diplomacy – if it means protecting my own. I do not take threats lightly." Kanoko took a step towards the dark haired boy making him squirm slightly, "And your very existence continues to threaten not only my family, but my sanity."_

 _Kuro frowned for a moment before a sly smirk grew on his face. Taking a step forward until the two were only inches from each other, Kuro locked eyes with Kanoko, "You're nothing but spoiled little puppy that has a big dog's bark. Other people might see you as this great and strong force, and the women of the clan might see you as the clan's next great leader, but we both know that you're going to end up as nothing but a trophy for the clan and its next head to parade around."_

 _Kuro leaned back with a smug smirk at Kanoko's silence and laughed arrogantly at her, "Just accept your fate! All you'll ever amount to is being some man's barefoot and pregnant wench–"_

 _Kuro didn't get to finish his statement as he was socked_ _ **hard**_ _in the jaw by a seething Shikamaru._

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Tsunade sighed as the heads of Konoha's departments and her own personal staff walked out the room. Turning around in her chair, Tsunade got up to look out at the horizon. Her brown eyes traveled over the houses as her frown deepened.

"Well… I guess there's no turning back now."

Tsunade turned her head around to see a familiar silver haired jounin, "Kakashi. You're late."

Kakashi looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head, "Well, you see… there was this cat…"

Tsunade sighed heavily and wave her hand with frustration, "I'm too sober to deal with you right now…"

Kakashi opened his mouth to ask what the Hokage called him in for when the doors burst opened. Both occupants turned towards the door to see a panting Aburame Shino with Torune standing just behind him.

Tsunade's expression turned serious as she waved them in. The two made it into the room and Torune shut the doors behind them before using a jutsu to seal the room.

Kakashi watched Shino as he approached the Hokage's desk. Kakashi took a moment to look over the boy, wondering if he was injured. Besides being a fellow Leaf shinobi, the boy was also a good friend to his students and Kakashi knew firsthand how important friends were. The young man seemed unscathed, but it was difficult to know for sure – with the large trench coat covering his entire body making the inspection difficult.

"Report." The Hokage told the younger Aburame.

Shino turned his head slightly to the side – in Kakashi's direction.

Kakashi shrugged and looked to Tsunade. The Fifth Hokage sighed and nodded, "Go on."

Shino nodded slowly before speaking in a deep voice, "We do not have as much time as earlier intelligence reported. Why? Because the targets are already enroute to the Sand Village – one group of two."

Tsunade hissed out a curse.

Kakashi gave Shino a worried look, "How were you able to verify your information? These are not simple shinobi, but S-ranked criminals from the great nations. Surely they spotted you."

Torune turned to Kakashi, "The Aburame Clan works with several insects, but Shino is special. An Aburame must cultivate insects in order to use them in various ways – like gaining the loyalty of a dog by raising it from birth. Shino, through the use of select bugs he has trained specifically for this, is able to communicate and use several types of insects that he did not go through the effort of cultivating - like earning the loyalty of a stray dog in a matter of seconds. Shino likely used the existing insects in the area to spy. The enemy would be unable to tell the difference between the existing insects which ones were being used and which weren't."

Shino nodded slightly, "It is as my brother says."

Torune smiled lightly at Shino.

"How far were they from the Sand village?" Tsunade asked, cutting in – having already been aware of the young Aburame's skill.

Shino turned back to the Hokage, "Three, four days tops."

Kakashi sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging as he turned his exhausted eyes to his Hokage, "That's not enough time to put our plans in effect."

Tsunade clicked her teeth in frustration before stomping around her desk and towards the door, "It will have to be enough. We don't have another hand to play here." Tsunade pulled the doors open with a great amount of force, making the door screech loudly, before hollering out into the hallway, "BRING ME A MESSENGER BIRD!"

The chunin in the hallway raced out of the area at the command. Tsunade turned back to Torune, "Get me the department heads! All of them!"

Torune nodded before flickering away.

The Senju heiress moved her brown eyes to Kakashi, "Gather the rookie twelve and their senseis." Tsunade paused for a moment, her frown deepening, "Send Nara Kanoko to her father. He will assign her mission."

Kakashi frowned but nodded at his Hokage before disappearing away as well.

Shino looked to Tsunade and waited patiently for her command.

Tsunade stared at the young boy for a moment before deciding on a thought, "Did you recognize these shinobi?"

Shino nodded, "Only one and only from the bingo books: Deidara of the Stone Village. The other I did not recognize."

Tsunade nodded before looking towards the windows in her office, "Help Kakashi." Tsunade followed up her statement with an annoyed sigh, "Kami knows what those brats are up to."

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"NaaaaaaruuuuuuuuTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"AHHHH! SAKURA-CHAN! It was an accident!"

Shikamaru and his teammates walked up to the scene of an angry pinkette with ice cream dripping off her top punching the daylights out of a cowering Naruto. They were a little off the main road leading to the heart of Konoha, standing next to an ice cream cart.

Shikamaru sighed tiredly, his eyes staring blandly at the pair as Ino walked over to tease Sakura on her outfit while Chouji made a beeline for the ice cream cart. Kanoko turned her head slightly to look over at her brother, her arms crossed and a small smirk on her face.

Dropping his shoulders, Shikamaru asked, "How does he _always_ manage to get himself in these situations?"

Kanoko shrugged with an amused look on her face, "If you couldn't figure it out after being attached to the hip for two and a half years, the rest of us have no luck in trying to figure it out." Kanoko turned her orange eyes back to the scene before her, " _The plan_ was to get some ice cream…" Kanoko uncurled a hand to point at the vender – a young man with a pretty face – who was currently being flirted with by Shikamaru's blonde teammate, "Sakura did the same thing your teammate is currently doing – causing Naruto to get jealous and show up the boy." Kanoko's smirk widened, "Naruto never did have greatest awareness of his surroundings… Knocked all the ice cream Sakura was getting for us all over her outfit."

Shikamaru chuckled lowly, more in response to his sister's amusement than the situation. Taking a minute to look over his sister, Shikamaru asked, "You're in a good mood today."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow before pausing and speaking slowly, "I suppose I am." Kanoko looked back at her teammates with a small smirk, "I suppose I am happy to have my team back together again." Kanoko's smirk twitched up as she gave Shikamaru a side look, "I'm happy to have my annoying, lazy, ungrateful brother back too."

Shikamaru gave Kanoko an annoyed look before giving her a serious look.

Kanoko felt the change in her brother's demeanor and her expression turned neutral, "What is it?"

Shikamaru turned his eyes lazily to the group ahead of them before turning back to Kanoko with a knowing look. Kanoko nodded and turned to her teammates and called out, "Naruto, Sakura, go on without me. Shikamaru and I will catch up in a moment."

Naruto gave the two a curious look while Sakura shrugged, "I got to go clean up anyways." Sakura gave Naruto a sharp look which caused the blonde to flinch, "No way I'm showing up covered in ice cream! Kakashi-sensei's bad enough when we don't give him material to work with!"

Ino turned from the uncomfortable looking merchant to the pinkette, "Oh, you guys are meeting up with your sensei?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

Chouji answered for his teammate as he finished his ice cream, "We got a message to meet your sensei at the Hokage's tower. We were just heading there when we saw you."

Naruto turned to Kanoko and Shikamaru with a serious look, "Kakashi's message to us didn't make it sound like it was anything out of the normal. We just thought it was a normal team meeting."

Kanoko nodded, "Agreed." Looking from her brother to her teammates, Kanoko spoke again, "Go meet up with Kakashi-sensei. Shikamaru and I will be there in a moment."

Sakura looked to Naruto with a worried look, which he returned with a serious look of his own before turning back to Kanoko and nodding. Ino and Chouji also took a moment to give their teammate a concerned look before leaving with Naruto and Sakura for the Hokage's tower.

Watching her teammates walk out of sight, Kanoko turned back to her brother and spoke, "What is going on?"

Shikamaru gave his sister a grave look, "Tou-san was relaxing at home on his day off, when Torune came out of nowhere and the two left in a rush. Not long after I received the message from Kakashi's summoned dog to gather my team and meet up at the Hokage's tower."

Kanoko frowned, "Why didn't you want to say that in front of our teammates? They will know what this is all about in a moment – not that I'm sure what is even going on."

Shikamaru looked away from his sister's face with a nervous twitch, "I… _may_ have looked through a few of his things…"

Kanoko crossed his arms and gave him a stern look.

Shikamaru snorted as he shrugged, "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's not like you've never done it."

Kanoko ignored his accusation and didn't let up her look, "Continue…"

Shikamaru sighed, "I saw some sketches of that place in Suna we took our Chunin Exams in – the Demon Desert outpost." Shikamaru frowned, "I also saw some markings with your name in the middle of what looked to be a battlefield."

Kanoko frowned before shifting her eyes around, "We shouldn't be speaking about this out here." Kanoko looked back to her brother with an unreadable expression, "And we can't keep our teams waiting."

Kanoko turned in the direction of the Hokage's tower when she was stopped by a hand gripping her upper arm. Turning back, Kanoko eyed the hand and then her brother.

Shikamaru gave his sister a serious look, "I heard what you did for me, with the Hyuuga Clan, when Naruto and I were gone. **You shouldn't have done it**."

Kanoko's eyes narrowed slightly, "What does that have anything to do with our conversation now or the situation at hand?"

Shikamaru didn't let up, "Because you keep making the same mistakes over and over again, and I'm asking you to stop."

Kanoko's lips thinned, "Choosing to protect your family isn't a mistake. It's an obligation."

Shikamaru paused, caught slightly off guard by Kanoko's wording, before speaking, "Then call it my obligation to stop you from getting yourself killed by taking on more than you can chew." Shikamaru's eyes locked onto his sister's orange ones, "Even if you didn't have a family to lean back on – which you most certainly do – you have your team, your sensei, and all our other friends to rely on. We're not twelve year old rookie shinobi anymore. We've grown up. You need to start trusting us."

Kanoko stared back at her brother with an unreadable expression – completely void of emotion. The two stood like that for what felt like forever until Kanoko placed her free hand on her brother's clamped around her arm and gently pulled it from her arm – her gaze never leaving her brother's.

With one last look, Kanoko turned from her brother and started walking away.

Shikamaru watched with half lidded eyes as his sister walked away from him, her long hair blowing gently in the wind. Sighing internally, Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment before slowly followed after her – a bad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

A really bad feeling.

.

* * *

.

.

"We haven't had enough time to get the word out about the treaty." Inoichi told his friend as they walked down the hall of the Hokage's tower.

Shikaku frowned at his friend, "And all my best shinobi are out on other missions that I can't just pull them from…" Shikaku's tired eyes sharpened as they pushed through the door leading to the Hokage's office, "Let's just hope Leopard has a few ANBU available…" Shikaku sighed heavily, "Otherwise… I'm not sure how we'll pull this off."

Inoichi frowned, "Maybe it's best we call the whole thing off."

"That is not an option."

The two clan heads looked up to see their Hokage sitting at her desk with a large frown on her face and her eyes sharp. The powerful woman spoke again, this time looking over to her old teammate, "We can't continue to ignore this _organization_ and it can be almost guaranteed that war will be on doorstep if we allow the Sand to fall."

The ANBU commander entered the room with a Body Flicker Jutsu. Bowing politely to the Hokage, he spoke, "Reporting as requested."

Inoichi walked over to Ibiki, who looked as happy as always, nodding politely to the Hokage as he did so. Shikaku watched his friend walk away and decided to occupy the spot next to Jiraiya.

Tsunade nodded as she looked around the room, noting that the rest of the department heads were present, "Now that everyone's here. Let's get started…"

The doors opened again with three people entering this time.

"I think you forgot to invite us, _Hokage-sama_." Danzo told Tsunade with a haunting tone. Behind him, Koharu and Homura stood with their own disapproving looks. The three entered the room completely before taking a spot near the front.

Tsunade stopped herself from grumbling loudly. Looking at the members present, she spoke, "I've just received a credible report that the Akatsuki are making their move. They are three to four days away from Suna." Tsunade turned to Shikaku, "As far as we know, there are only two Akatsuki members. One was identified as Deidara of the Stone while the other is still an unknown."

Shikaku gave his Hokage a grave look, "Deidara of the Stone, huh?" The Jounin Commander paused a moment before telling Tsunade, "We haven't had enough time to gather everyone needed from their respective missions. Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai are the only jounin I don't have on missions right now – or aren't critical to Konoha's operations. Between the mass amount of missions we have undertaken and a recent boom in pregnant kunoichi, I'm afraid to say that our elite shinobi pool is getting smaller by the day." Shikaku looked over to the ANBU Commander.

The man understood Shikaku's unspoken question and answered, "I have two I can spare, but I imagine you were already going to recruit those two."

Shikaku frowned, but did not speak.

Jiraiya looked around nervously, "Seriously? That's all we got? A couple jounin and a couple ANBU Black Ops?" Jiraiya looked bewildered at Tsunade, "Don't tell me you're sending the kids to do this!"

Tsunade folded her hands on her lap as she leaned back, "What other choice do I have? I can't send shinobi like you or I, or it would smell like a trap. We can't send too many shinobi either for that same reason. This is a very delicate mission – in more ways than one."

"Which is why you should forego the whole idea and simply assist the Sand after the fallout." Homura told the Hokage with a frown on his face.

Koharu nodded, "I agree. This whole plan relies on too many factors – the worst being the heavy reliance on an inexperienced and unpredictable kunoichi to keep someone as important as the Kazekage safe."

Shikaku's eyes sharpened slightly on the elderly pair and told them in a deep tone, "As much as I am opposed to my daughter partaking in such a dangerous mission, she is more qualified than anyone in this room to complete a mission of this nature."

Homura scoffed, "Of course you would say that. You insult your intelligence by making a fool of yourself in front of your peers with your bias."

Inoichi growled lowly at the man for insulting his friend, but held his tongue – knowing his friend could hold his own.

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "I apologize Mitokado-san. I was unaware that you could use advance fuinjutsu once only known by Konoha's second and fourth Hokages. Can you also bend shadows to your will – ensnaring any enemy that treads too closely?"

Homura glowered at the Nara clan head and was about to spit back a response when Danzo cut him off, "I am in agreement that if we continue with this plan, Nara Kanoko is more than capable of completing her mission." Danzo turned his head slightly towards the ANBU Commander, "I have heard that the Nara continues to outperform all those her senior in both efficiency and protocol."

The masked man nodded, "It is as if she understands what the Second Hokage created the ANBU Black Ops for and continues to strive towards that goal. She is my only operative who continually passes Inoichi's mental evaluation with flying colors to date."

Inoichi frowned and crossed his arms as he mumbled under his breath, "Only because the girl is more cryptic than her father on a good day… Damn Naras…"

Ibiki stopped himself from chuckling – remembering all the times the young Nara would walk out of his boss's office with a bland look, only to be followed by a pissed off Inoichi enroute to his old teammate's office.

Danzo nodded at the ANBU Commander before turning back to the Hokage, "As I said, the problem here is not the Nara child, but the other resources assigned to this mission." Danzo's eye sharpened, "I suspect you will place the tailed beast container on this mission as well – against all forms of common sense."

Tsunade's teeth gritted dangerously, " **His name** is **Naruto** , and yes. I am."

Koharu looked aghast, "Lady Tsunade! You can't be serious! This will play right into their hands!"

Jiraiya looked a little nervous as well, but willed himself to calm down. As much as he grew attached to the kid – the both of them – over the last couple years, he also knew Naruto had a strength in him that could overcome any challenge placed before him – and with Shikamaru by his side, the kid wouldn't let the blonde get himself killed.

"Enough!" Tsunade bellowed out, standing up and slamming her hands on her desk – letting some of her chakra out for presence, "I've already selected those that will be assigned this mission! There will be no more debate! What I need from you all now is for each and every one of you to play your part!" Tsunade's turned her harsh brown eyes on Ibiki and Inoichi, "Get the word out in any way possible. Speak with Jiraiya for more ideas and recommendations. I want this to be believable! The whole plan relies on the Akatsuki believing this meeting to be real and not a trap."

Inoichi and Ibiki nodded before looking at each other, already planning on which prisoners to use or spies to exploit.

Tsunade shifted to the ANBU Commander, "Leopard, I need one more ANBU out of you – someone to watch the situation and report back to Konoha immediately if things turn array."

The masked man opened his mouth to tell the Hokage that he did not have any to spare that met those requirements when Danzo popped up again, "Hokage-sama, I have such shinobi under my wing. One that can remain cool under pressure, monitor the situation, and report quickly without leaving the battlefield."

Tsunade's frown deepened as she thought over the old man's too good to be true offer. Her eyes narrowed, " _This either comes with strings or will bite me in the ass._ " Shifting her eyes to her ANBU Commander, who shook his head at her – letting her know that he had nothing to offer her – Tsunade turned back to Danzo, "Have your shinobi report to Hatake Kakashi."

Danzo nodded with an unreadable expression.

Carefully moving her gaze from the bandaged elder, Tsunade looked over to Shikaku, "I have Kakashi rounding up the shinobi selected for this mission as we speak. This will report to me for orders, but I have told him to send Kanoko straight to you. I will be placing Kakashi as mission leader, but Kanoko will have full discretion over her own mission. She will act independently of the group."

Shikaku nodded.

Having nothing else to add, Tsunade dismissed the group from her office, "You are all dismissed!"

And with a poof a smoke, several of them disappeared while the older shinobi simply walked out of the office.

Sitting back down in her chair, Tsunade sighed heavily. Shizune came over from her place behind her teacher and placed a hand on her shoulder, "You don't have a choice. This is the best decision you could have made." Shizune looked over her shoulder to Torune and gave him a concerned look, "I just hope everyone makes it back ok…"

Tsunade lifted her head to look up at Shizune with a serious expression, "Which is why you are going."

"Huh?" Shizune asked bewildered.

Tsunade gave her student a serious look, "This is probably one of the most unpredictable and dangerous missions we have ever willingly sent chunin on. Sakura will not be enough and Ino and Hinata will be primary offensive fighters in this battle. They will not have time or spare chakra to spend on healing others." Tsunade sighed heavily again, "I would like to send more, but it's not normally protocol to send more than a couple medics out on a diplomatic mission. Sending too many could tip them off."

Shizune nodded, "I understand. I will not let you down!"

Tsunade smirked while Torune smiled softly from behind.

"Good." Tsunade told her ex-student.

.

* * *

.

.

Naruto sat with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his hand – looking incredibly board. They were sitting in the hall of the Hokage's tower, near the entrance to the Mission Assignment room. Taking a look over the area, Naruto's face scrunched up into a frown. Leaning against the wall across from Naruto was Sasuke – looking like a stuck up jerk per usual in Naruto's opinion. Next to him and sitting on the ground, leaning against the large Akamaru was Kiba – looking tired and about to fall asleep – with Chouji on the other side of Akamaru – also leaning against him. Naruto briefly wondered if Team Kurenai just got back from a mission as Hinata looked tired as well, as she tried to keep up the conversation she was having with the other kunoichi.

Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Tenten were all off to the side, creating a small circle in which they conversed about several topics Naruto gave up trying to keep up with. Though, he did regret not paying better attention when Ino and Tenten giggled and pointed at him before watching Hinata snap her head away – her face flushing into a deep red as the girls continued to giggle.

Naruto's gaze continued through the hallway. Everyone from the academy was here – even Shino. Lee was standing by Neji, talking to him in what he dubbed his "quiet voice" – which wasn't very quiet. The Hyuuga didn't look as annoyed as normal, which surprised Naruto.

According to Sakura, Neji had really changed over the last couple of years. He was a jounin, just like Sasuke and Kanoko, and had been forced to work on his communication skills when he showed interest in the open ambassador positions Konoha had created just after the Cloud incident nearly three years ago. After becoming a chunin, he requested to be placed in the foreign relations department to be trained as a future ambassador.

Also according to Sakura, Tsunade had given Neji a stern talk about the position and his intentions going into the line of work. She wanted to make sure he had Konoha's best interests at heart and was not doing this solely to stick it to the Hyuuga Clan. Sakura didn't share all the details, but Tsunade did grant Neji's request and almost two years later, he was one of the Leaf's better representatives.

Naruto paused in thought to think, " _I never asked how the Hyuuga Clan took it…_ " Naruto's eyes moved from Neji to Hinata, " _They seem to be on good terms… He was polite and courteous to her earlier when they entered together…_ "

Looking up at Shino who was standing next to Naruto, Naruto spoke, "Hey, I thought you were on a mission."

Shino turned his head slowly and slightly down towards Naruto, "I was."

Naruto gave him an annoyed look, "And?"

Shino turned his head up again, "And that is all."

Naruto grumbled lowly before turning his attention to the figure walking down the hall towards them. Lifting his head, Naruto called out, "Oi! Shikamaru!" Blue eyes scanned around the pineapple head before asking, "Where's Kanoko?"

The other shinobi in the hall perked up at the Naras' names and looked equally curious of Shikamaru's answer.

Shikamaru shrugged, "One of the shinobi at the front told her tou-san was looking for her."

Naruto frowned, "Didn't she tell him that she had to meet up with Kakashi-sensei?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth to respond but shut it when his lazy eyes traveled passed the blonde shinobi. Naruto blinked at his friend's reaction and turned around to see his sensei in question.

"Yo." Kakashi told them with his normal laid back tone. Scanning the area with his eye, he spoke, "Looks like everyone is here… Good." Looking to Shino, Kakashi nodded, "Thank you for your assistance."

Shino nodded before disappearing in a flash of smoke.

Naruto stared at the space Shino once occupied before snapping his eyes to his sensei, "Wait! Sensei! Kanoko was told to go meet up with her-"

"Father?" Kakashi finished for Naruto before nodding, "I am aware. Kanoko will meet up with us after the Hokage briefs all of you on your mission."

All eyes were on Kakashi – waiting impatiently for more information on what was going on and why they were all needed on the same mission. Just as Naruto was about to ask another question, the door opened. Shizune peaked her head out and smiled slightly at everyone in the hallway, "Good! You all are here! We don't have much time, so please make your way in quickly."

Everyone nodded in various ways as they filed into the Hokage's office.

Tsunade looked up from her notes to watch everyone line up in front of her. Nodding to Shizune, the brunette closed the door behind them and made a hand sign.

Neji's pale eyes narrowed slightly, " _A silencing jutsu…_ " Looking over to Sasuke – the only other jounin in the room – Neji wondered, " _What is going on here…_ "

Tsunade took a moment to eye all the young shinobi before her as she folded her hands on her desk. Leaning forward, she spoke in a deep tone, "Each of you have been selected for a mission of great importance. I will not lie to you, this mission is at the very least a high level A ranked mission and could turn into a S-ranked mission. The failure of this mission has a high chance of starting a war as well. And due to our limited resources, poor timing and the sensitivity of this mission, the support and resources provided to you will be small."

Tsunade paused, her tone firm as she spoke, "With the understanding that you may not come back from this mission or suffer life altering injuries, are you willing to accept this mission? Once you have accepted this task there will be take-backs. You will continue the mission or be punished for abandoning a mission without proper reason. If you do not wish to take on this dangerous mission, I and everyone here understands and will not think less of you for it. There is strength in understanding your limitations."

Shikamaru frowned before speaking, "Before we accept or decline, can you tell us more about this mission? Where is it or what the possible threats are?"

Tsunade shook her head, "No. I cannot."

The teenagers looked at each other, looking for some sort of sibilance of support or wisdom. Chouji and Ino looked to Sakura who shook her head – having no knowledge of what her teacher was planning on assigning to them.

Taking a step forward, Neji bowed slightly before speaking clearly, "I accept these terms."

Lee and Tenten looked at each other before nodding firmly at one and another and stepping forward, "I accept as well!" The two spoke – Lee three times louder than Tenten.

Sasuke eyed the three of them carefully before turning back to the Hokage.

Tsunade smirked lightly before speaking, "Your captain already gave me rights over you, Uchiha."

Sasuke snorted as he looked away – slightly annoyed and wondering why he decided to join the ANBU in the first place, " _Because I don't like people telling me what to do and Kanoko told me not to._ "

Groaning loudly, Kiba whined at his teammate, "Seriously man? We just got back from a week long, exhausting mission and you decide to drag us into this crap!" Kiba gave Sasuke an annoyed look and mumbled, "Some friend you are."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "No one said you had to join."

Kiba grinned with a fang show and bark out, "Nah, Team Kurenai is an all or nothing deal!" Kiba looked over to Hinata and grinned widely, "Right Hinata?"

Hinata smiled confidently and nodded, "Yep!"

Sasuke shrugged and looked away – not willing to show his happiness on their loyalty.

Ino looked around her and sighed, "Well, if everyone else is going we aren't going to be left behind!" Ino followed up her statement with a fist in the air.

Sakura grinned at her friend and seconded her motion, "Yeah!" Turning back to the Hokage, Sakura nodded confidently, "I won't let you down Shishou!"

Chouji shook his head at his blonde teammate and turned to Shikamaru with a calm smile, "We can't let Ino go out on her own – our fathers would kill us." Chouji chuckled lowly, "If Ino's doesn't get his hands on us first… Or our mothers for that matter!"

Shikamaru sighed, thinking about his own mother and how she would likely beat his head in with a wooden spoon with his father shaking his head in disappointment in the background. Signing loudly Shikamaru nodded in agreement, "Troublesome… But you're right." Shikamaru's lazy eyes traveled to his left, landing on a certain blonde, "However… I'd like to hear what Naruto has to say."

Everyone in the room looked over to the oddly silent Uzumaki. When Naruto noticed all eyes were on him, he frowned slightly before crossing his arms and locking eyes with Tsunade.

Shizune was taken aback. She had never seen such a serious and firm look from the young blonde – his blue eyes felt like they could freeze over an open flame. Opening her mouth to ask Naruto what was wrong, she stopped when Tsunade lifted a hand.

Setting her hand back on her desk, Tsunade spoke deeply to Naruto, "I'm surprised Naruto. I thought you would be the first to volunteer."

Naruto's firm look twitched into a frown. Wiping the emotion from his face again, Naruto spoke in an even tone, "I'm not the naïve kid I once was." Naruto frowned again as he uncrossed his arms, "And I've seen enough of what pervy sage does to know S-ranked missions aren't intense missions full of adventure and excitement. It's full of death and destruction – for both sides." Naruto crossed his arms again, "If I'm going to accept this mission…" Naruto looked back at his friends, "…And let you put my friends and family in danger then I'm going to need more information."

Tsunade's brown eyes narrow, "I don't think you understand how this works-"

"Actually Shishou…" Sakura tentatively spoke up, cutting off her teacher and Hokage, "According to the official rules regarding assignment of missions outside of times of war, which were crafted and instituted during the First's reign, all shinobi reserve the right to inquire the following details of any mission proposed to them, regardless of rank." Sakura paused for a moment to look around the room, "The first is location – where is the mission taking place? The second is mission type – assassination, infiltration, protection detail, manual labor, etc. And the last is those already assigned, or proposed to be assigned. The only exception to the last rule is ANBU. Only the code name of the ANBU assigned will be given."

Ino blinked at her friend, completely taken back. Sputtering for a second, Ino gasped out, "Where do you store all that?! I mean, your forehead is big, but it's not that big!"

Sakura raised her fist with an angry huff, "My foreheads not that big, Ino –PIG!"

Tsunade cleared her throat loudly to break up the fight before speaking serious, "I'm not sure where you're getting your information-"

"She's right though." Shikamaru said with a shrug before yawning out his explanation, "Tou-san made sure Kanoko and I knew all the official and widely accepted rules of mission assignment. While there is a widely accepted rule that when your superior says it's need to know only, you typically accept it as is. However, it's not an official rule and the current, binding one gives Leaf shinobi the freedom to ask more questions."

Tsunade paused for a moment, caught off guard and no longer feeling too certain in her statement, " _I have never heard of such a rule._ " Tsunade's eyes drifted off slightly, " _But we were always in war when I was still in the Leaf. I imagine there was a lot of things the village's combined monarchy did under the claim of "wartime exceptions" that were not legal. Or ethical…_ "

Instead of forcing her assistant to go look up the rule and waste time, Tsunade leaned back in her chair and folded her hands on her lap. Taking a hard look at the blonde in front of her, Tsunade spoke confidently, "Neither the Leaf nor the Sand has the luxury of time to argue about such a rule, true or not."

Naruto and Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched upwards at the inclusion of the Sand village.

Tsunade continued without a pause, "So I am going to take a leap of faith and tell you your mission. Whether you have accepted or not after is up to you and I will not hold it against you if you chose not to partake." Tsunade closed her eyes and spoke, "But I will not hold back anything either. If even one of you don't accept, this mission will fail before it has even begun."

"We understand." Neji spoke up from the back of the room.

Everyone else in the room slowly nodded in agreement, prompting Tsunade to start.

"I'll start from the beginning. For many years now, the Leaf has been tracking the movements of an exclusive group of powerful shinobi that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The ultimate goal or driving force behind this group is unknown, but there are a few things we do know. The first is that the group as no loyalty to any of the great nations or smaller countries. The second is that those that we have identified as members are S-ranked missing nin from various shinobi villages. The third is that they take missions from other villages that either benefits them monetarily or disrupts the peace between the nations."

Sasuke was the first to speak, "You're talking about the Akatsuki."

The room fell silent. Sakura turned her worried eyes towards Naruto, making him blink in confusion. Shikamaru quickly picked up on the atmosphere in the room and spoke up with a small grunt, "My sister just can't keep her mouth shut, can she?"

Ino gave her teammate a nasty look, "We all have a right to know when one of our own is the target of some group so powerful the great nations are keeping them at arm's length!" Ino turned her teal eyes to Naruto and nodded confidently at him, "We all took an oath. This group of poorly coordinated and tasteless robed thugs want to get their hands on you then they have to go through all of us first!"

Lee nodded vigorously behind Ino, "What Yamanaka-san says is true! Our fire of youth shall always burn all those before us when those we care for at risk!"

Naruto's mouth fell open slightly before he looked down, shadows covering his face, "So… Then that means… That you guys know-"

"And we don't care." Neji spoke up again, his voice firm and his eyes serious. Turning his head slightly to the right, he spoke again, "None of us care about the fox spirit inside you."

Naruto frown and opened his mouth to disagree when Sakura punched him in the shoulder, "Oh no you don't! We know what that means and if you think for one second that we are messing with you, I'm going to punch you so hard you're going to forget what your own name is!"

Naruto took a step back, sweating slightly at Sakura's look that promised pain.

Hinata stepped forward and spoke lightly with a small smile on her face, "Naruto-kun… That's who you are, with or without the fox demon. To us, you're just Naruto-kun."

Naruto's blue eyes widened – completely speechless.

Shikamaru smirked at his friend's stunned look before turning back to the Hokage and speaking lazily, "I think it's safe to continue." Shikamaru took one more look at Naruto before chuckling lowly, "I don't think I've ever seen Naruto this speechless before. Best to capitalize on it while you still can."

Tsunade grumbled under her breath about rude children before smirking at the frozen blonde before her. Clearing her throat, she started up again, "Well, since you already know about the Akatsuki and their obsession with Jinchuriki, I will get straight into the details of the mission." Tsunade paused before speaking, "The following information is highly confidential and while you may already know because of the chunin exams, I still expect you to keep this information to yourself. That is an order."

Everyone in the room nodded before Tsunade continued, "In an effort to both strike back at the Akatsuki and possibly learn more information on this group, the Leaf and Sand have come together to lay a trap for the Akatsuki. We have already established that two of the Akatsuki's goals are capture Jinchuriki and disrupt the order and peace between the nations. Using this information, Sand and Leaf operatives have been spreading information of a disagreement between the Sand and Leaf. The word is that the Leaf is forming to cripple the Sand by forcing them into conditions the Sand could not agree with. To combat this, the Sand requested a meeting at a neutral location to sign an agreement that will hold the Leaf at bay until the Sand can stand on their own again."

Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully, "So you're creating a scenario in which an attack from a third party could be blamed on by either side – forcing war to start, or at the very least, for our alliance to crumble…" Shikamaru looked over at Naruto with a frown, "And you're hoping to use Naruto as extra bait." The Nara turned to the Hokage, "Isn't that too good to be true? Wouldn't they smell the trap a mile away?"

Tsunade's mouth opened to explained when Naruto finally found his words – frowning as he spoke in a disapproved tone, "You're going to use Gaara."

Tsunade nodded, "The Kazekage is already a target. I received a report this morning that Akatsuki members are already enroute to Suna to capture him. As much as I respect the Fifth Kazekage and his shinobi, they do not have the resources or shinobi to fight off members of the Akatsuki. I shouldn't have to remind this group, but one of these members is the Leaf's own Uchiha Itachi. That should give you an idea of how powerful and deadly these shinobi are."

Naruto closed his eyes, still not happy, but not finding a good argument either. He and Shikamaru got to visit the Sand village quite a few times in the past two and half years. They were making great strides in such a short amount of time, but even Naruto could tell that they need more time before they would be seen as the force they once were.

"So the peace talks and Jinchuriki are the bait. Based on your description of these shinobi, what exactly are you asking of us? Based on what you told us of the Sand, they don't that the shinobi capable of standing against this threat and the only jounin I see in this room are myself and Uchiha." Neji spoke with an expressionless face, "And as you said before, the failure of this mission would start a war. What do you see in us that I don't?"

Tsunade leaned forward, "You're all unknowns. While your talents have raised you to where you are now, much of the world knows little more about you than what your last name tell them. Together, I believe you are strong enough to keep them at bay long enough for our experienced jounin to capture or kill the Akatsuki members."

Sakura looked worried, "And if were not?"

Tsunade took a breath, "We have an escape plan in place. If the fallback call is indicated – which can only be done by the three squad leaders and Kazekage protection detail – then both the Kazekage and Naruto will be teleported out with the rest of the force fleeing the scene. Shino and Aburame will be stationed just outside the battlefield. They will not be allowed to join the fight as their primary responsibility will be to provide cover for our retreat."

Shikamaru frowned, "That's why Kanoko's not here. She's getting a separate mission. You're going to use her ability to jump space and time to get Naruto and Gaara out." Shikamaru's frown deepened as his face turned sour, "That makes her target number one. It's no secret that Kanoko knows the Fourth Hokage's secret jutsu."

Sasuke perked up at Shikamaru's words before turning to look out the window – deep in thought.

"Yes." Tsunade spoke plainly, "Nara Kanoko will likely be the target – if the Akatsuki know of her fuinjutsu and it's foolish to think they don't." Tsunade paused for a moment before continuing, "However, your sister is the only one that can protect the Kazekage from the Akatsuki. Because of her use of your clan's jutsu and the Flying Thunder god Jutsu – not to mention her ability to keep a cool head in a tough situation – this mission's success or failure falls directly onto her shoulders. Even if a retreat is called, the mission will still be considered a success, but only if the Kazekage comes out alive. Otherwise… It will be war."

Shikamaru's frown deepened, but he did not speak – feeling the task was futile. He knew his sister well enough to know she would not turn down the mission and he wasn't about to stand there and argue with his Hokage about something his sister would do regardless of his feelings about it. Shikamaru grumbled lowly, " _Sometimes I feel like I'm the girl in this relationship…_ "

Silence once again fell over the room. Several minutes went by, each shinobi thinking over everything they heard and what it would me for them and their friends if they went through with this mission. Some of them could die. They could all die.

A war could also start and then if wasn't just them at risk – it was everything they cared about.

Tsunade watched the children in front of her carefully consider the risks and costs of this mission. She felt weight in her chest. She knew exactly what they were going through. She had been through it more times than most – having been assigned more missions, especially during war times, than 90% of shinobi in the village.

She thought about her little brother and lover. Both victims of war.

Shaking her head, Tsunade looked to the group – unable to give them any more time to think it over. "I understand this is not an easy decision and as I said before, I and everyone else will understand if you cannot, but I need to know now. Will you accept this mission, understanding all that it entails?"

Naruto looked up at the Hokage. He paused to look into her eyes. Even if he didn't know her past, he could tell, just by the look in her eyes, that she was terrified for them. Naruto took a moment to wonder how she did it – send people out, people she knew and cared about, knowing they may never come back – likely wouldn't come back.

Naruto turned his head to look behind him. His deep blue eyes moved around the room.

Shikamaru was next to his own team, each of them looking at each other with determination – knowing that no matter what, each of them would have each other's back.

Lee was standing close to Tenten. Tenten seemed to be the most nervous of the bunch, but was quickly calmed down by the wide smile of her teammate, Lee.

Neji seemed completely unfazed, as did Sasuke.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the pair before moving his eyes to Sasuke's teammates. Hinata looked surprisingly calm and determined. He really didn't know much about the girl, other than the fact that she gets red and faints a lot, but he remembers how she fought alongside Sasuke in the Chunin Exams. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Kiba seemed as confident as ever, but Naruto had known him long enough to tell that the dog-like nin was really worried. Naruto knew that Kiba wasn't worried about himself, but terrified for his teammates. Kiba has always been a solid kind of friend. Once you're one of his pack, there ain't no going back.

Finally, Naruto's eyes rested on his own teammate and longtime crush: Sakura.

Sakura was staring at the door leading out of the Hokage's office – looking lost in thought. Naruto followed her gaze and knew exactly what Sakura was thinking.

Where was Kanoko?

Where was their teammate?

Naruto closed his eyes. It's not like he felt like he couldn't do this mission without her, it's just… He felt like he **shouldn't** make this decision without her. Kanoko was his teammate… his friend… his family.

He knew that, despite her rough exterior, she cared about her teammates, even Kakashi-sensei, more than words could explain. Naruto exhaled deeply, his eyes moving to look out the window, " _I wonder what she's thinking about all this…_ "

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* * *

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"What?!" Kanoko shouted at her father, making the elder sigh dramatically. Kanoko felt her blood start to boil as her teeth gritted, "You cannot be serious."

Shikaku sighed again as he leaned back on his desk, "Unfortunately, that's what Konoha's greatest minds came up with."

Kanoko crossed her arms and mumbled under her breath, "…I was working with a lot less when my idiot brother was Hokage and even then, we didn't make stupid plans like this."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "Huh? I didn't catch that."

Kanoko gave him a bland look, "I said, what special kind of idiot thinks throwing a bunch of teenagers at the problem is going to make it all better?"

Shikaku sighed, "Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Shikaku paused to give Kanoko a knowing look, "After all, you're the one who pushed Jiraiya to convince us all this was our only option."

Kanoko scoffed, "First, that's not what happened and second, I certainly wouldn't have suggested a group of chunin with a couple token jounin take on a group of S-ranked criminals!"

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what would have been your suggestion?"

Kanoko gave her father an annoyed look, but fell silent.

Shikaku shook his head, "Kanoko." Shikaku paused to look his daughter in the eye, "You need to tell me what this is about. I've never seen you resist a mission like this."

Kanoko crossed her arms, "These are not random shinobi were talking about here, this is the Akatsuki: Dangerous warriors that know no remorse or mercy." Kanoko sighed, "Two of these shinobi were able to destroy the Waterfall Village and extract its tailed beast. In another case, a single shinobi from the group obliterated a town to strike war between nations. And now you are asking **children** to fight these beasts in the hope that more information can be extracted – and don't try to tell me that this is a true attempt to aid the Sand! Any idiot with two brain cells could see that the Kazekage was a target a long time ago – and I expect better from you!"

Shikaku watched his daughter start to pant lightly from her rage. His frown deepened with worry. Shikaku had seen his youngest mad before – both of his children took after their mother more than they admitted – but this was… not normal.

Sighing heavily, Shikaku softened his face and spoke calmly, "Noko-chan…"

Kanoko stood up suddenly from the chair she was sitting in with her fist tight, "No! This is not what this village was founded on! The intention was not to use our own children as pawns in war! **They** should be **what** we fight for! Not the other way around!"

Shikaku opened his mouth, taken aback by his daughter's yelling. She's never yelled directly at him before. She has gotten cold and distant or expressed her disappointment in creative ways, but Shikaku couldn't remember a single time his daughter had ever **yelled** at him or his wife.

Kanoko felt her jaw tighten and her whole body still in rage, "How dare you all sit within the safety of Konoha's walls as your own blood fights a battle you started yourselves! I- the Second Hokage was on the front line, with his pupils, when he sacrificed his own life in order to protect that which is sacred to the Leaf – the principle the village was founded on – protecting those that would come after him! The future of the village!"

Shikaku's eyes went wide at the accusation that he would **ever** put himself above his children – the only two beings in the world he would do **anything** for.

"Kanoko!"

Kanoko's eyes turned a deep red as they narrowed, "Those children are the best this village has to offer and I'm not going to let any of you allow them to die, just so you don't have to get your own hands dirty."

Shikaku choked on his own words. He felt like he was stabbed in the gut – his eyes showing the shock and hurt he felt from his daughter's cold words.

Shikaku quickly shook off some of the shock to reach out to grab Kanoko as she started on her way towards the door, only to clasp air as she teleported out of his office. Shikaku stared blankly at the space his daughter once stood – his thoughts traveling at a thousand miles per hour.

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Wondering just what happened…

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* * *

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"So?"

Gaara slowly lifted his eyes to look around the dank room. He folded the letter on the desk in front of him and slowly moved to stand – his expressionless eyes giving nothing away. After another pause, the young Kazekage spoke to the people in his office, "Akatsuki members are enroute to Suna. The Leaf has proposed putting their plan into action."

Kankuro stilled, his stomach filling with dread and worry for his little brother. Looking around the room, he was slightly taken aback. Most, if not all, the elders in the room looked just as worried as him. Kankuro knew that for some of them, it was just worry over losing another Kazekage and the village's strongest shinobi, but he could see in some of their eyes the genuine concern they had for Gaara.

Temari was the first to speak, her voice firm and strong, "What are our options?" Temari stood tall as she addressed the bulk of the village leaders, "Do we have the resources to defend Suna ourselves?"

Kankuro bit the inside of his cheek. That's his sister for sure, never one to hold her punches.

An elderly woman scoffed, "Accept help from that old hag? Ha! You're an idiot if you think the Leaf's going to send anyone worth a damn!"

A couple other shinobi in the room nodded in blind agreement making Kankuro and Temari sneer at them. Seeing their faces, their former sensei, Baki, intervened, "The Leaf has done a lot to improve relations between our countries, Chiyo. With the amount of time and resources they have pooled into us, it seems unlikely that they would just leave us out to hang now."

"Or maybe that's what they want us to think." Another elder pointed out, getting only a couple nods this time.

A senior jounin sighed heavily, "Doesn't this conversation feel familiar to anyone? Like the one we had right before we nearly got our Daimyo killed?"

Temari couldn't help smirking at the older man's quip. Houki Takeshi was a rather reserved individual, but could assess a situation in seconds before pointing out all the flaws – vocally and without any sugar coating.

Another scoff was heard from across the room, "I don't want to hear anything from a Houki when it comes to how we deal with the Leaf."

Takeshi simply rolled his eyes and ignored the younger man.

Chiyo wasn't as kind. "Shut your mouth runt! The Houki Clan may originally be from Leaf, but have served the Sand since before your father was born! Takeshi especially has proven his loyalty to the Sand several times over! So don't you dare speak as if you know anything."

The younger jounin opened his mouth in shock before fidgeting in shame.

Temari's smirk grew, loving every second of the verbal beat down, before looking back towards her brother's desk. Temari's face fell as she blinked.

"Where's Gaara?"

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* * *

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Closing his eyes, Gaara took in a deep and long breath, taking in the hot wind blowing through his red hair. He was standing out on the roof of the Kazekage's tower, overlooking the village he grew up in.

"So… What do you think?"

Gaara slowly opened his teal eyes to take a short look at the person next to him.

Kankuro sighed at his brother's quiet nature. Turning around so he could lean on the railing with his arms crossed, Kankuro twisted his head to face his little brother, "Come on Gaara! I know you've got something going on in that head of yours! This is too quiet, even for you."

Gaara couldn't help but smirk slightly at his brother's pout and whining. Looking out over the buildings of Suna, Gaara slowly spoke in a deep voice, "These shinobi… they are coming for me."

Kankuro opened his mouth to assure his brother that he and Temari weren't going to let anything happen to him, but stopped when Gaara raised his hand.

Gaara nodded to Kankuro's unspoken words before continuing, "I am not afraid for myself."

Kankuro frowned, "Well… If you're afraid for the rest of us, don't be. We know the risks and we understand what we're up against." Kankuro paused to find the right words, knowing his brother tends to take things literally, "I don't know if you understand how much of impact you've had on all of us. Like Houki-san said, we almost got out Daimyo killed three years ago! We're lucky he hasn't left Suna to starve and that's all because of you!"

Gaara lifted an eyebrow at his brother before shaking his head, ready to argue when another voice interrupted him from behind.

"Kankuro's right!" Temari smirked, "For once."

Kankuro huffed at his older sister, giving her an annoyed look, "Pff! I'm right a lot!"

Temari rolled her eyes, "Whatever." The blonde ignored her brother as she walked on the other side of her youngest brother. Giving him a pointed look, she spoke clearly, "This village relays on you. Not just because you're the strongest, or even that you're the Kazekage, but for what you represent and everything you've done for them." Temari turned her head to look at the buildings below, "Think about all the student's you've trained, all the missions you've gone on that've helped gain our Daimyo's approval back, and all the little things you've done around the village to help everyone."

Temari turned back to her red headed brother and smiled confidently at him, "They adore you Gaara, and they would do anything to keep you safe. The meeting you just fled from proves it. They aren't arguing over whether they should help you or not, but **how** we are going to keep our Kazekage safe and sound."

Gaara frowned at his sister's words.

Temari let out a frustrating sigh and looked over to Kankuro. Kankuro shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. The blonde snorted back at him and gave him an "I have to do everything myself" look before catching Gaara's attention again.

"What's this really about Gaara?" Temari crossed her arms and took a hard stance, "I've seen the plan the Leaf proposed a few weeks ago. It's not perfect, but I think we have a real chance of coming out winners in it."

Gaara looked out at the horizon, not speaking a word for several moments. Closing his eyes again, Gaara spoke, "Nothing."

" _Just a bad feeling…_ " Gaara thought as he turned around to head back in to talk to his council.

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* * *

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 **Two Days Later**

"Ugggh… I thought I'd never have to see this dessert again! This just sucks!"

Kanoko's eye twitched slight before speaking loudly over her shoulder, "Quiet Naruto. This is not a pleasure trip. We are here to do a job." Kanoko lifted an eyebrow at the blonde as he drug his feet in the sand, "And pick up the pace. We will not be late."

Naruto's face scrunched up before giving Kanoko a dirty look after she turned back around. Turning to his right, he mumbled in a grumpy tone, "Someone forgot the remove the stick out of her butt this morning! And the last two mornings for that matter!"

Shikamaru gave Naruto a pointed look as he shoved him lightly, "Hey. That's my sister."

Naruto snorted, "Whatever."

Sakura sighed heavily behind the two before whispering to Ino, "Even Naruto and Shikamaru are in a bad mood… Can't say I really blame them… We've been on the move for two days straight in this heat." Sakura frowned as she looked over to Kanoko's back, "And Kanoko's been acting strange…"

Ino frowned, but nodded, "I can't imagine this is easy on her though… This whole mission rests in her hands." Ino wrapped her arms around her torso, "Anything could happen. This time tomorrow, we could all be…"

Sakura's eyes went wide, "Ino! Don't think like that! We're going to be just fine, just you watch!" Sakura nodded confidently with a wide smile on her face before looking over to Kanoko, "And Kanoko's the toughest of us! And if things are proving too much for her, she needs to know that we have her back – 110%!"

Ino nodded slowly, but the worried look did not fall from her face.

Sakura frowned at her friend, "What's wrong Ino? You were in such high spirits when we left."

Ino shrugged before looking forward towards Kanoko and Neji who were walking side by side, "Something feels wrong… I don't know how to explain it." Ino chewed on her lip for a moment before looking around at the group and whispering to Sakura, "Neji and Kanoko have barely spoken a word to each other. Don't you find that extremely odd? Ever since Naruto and Shikamaru have come home, it's like Kanoko and Neji can't stand to even be in the same room with one another."

Sakura frowned and placed a finger on her chin, "Now that you mention it… I never see Neji anymore. Normally he comes and picks Kanoko up after we train to go do whatever they do, but he hasn't done that in a while…"

"Keep your eyes sharp!" Kanoko called out to the group from ahead, interrupting the two kunoichi, "We could be attacked by Sand sympathizers at any moment."

Chouji frowned next to Shikamaru and spoke quiet, "Is that really a possibility?" Chouji's frown deepened with a sad look, "I understand that it's a part of the plan, but isn't this farce going a little too far?"

Shikamaru's lips set into a firm line and spoke quietly back, "It had to be believable or things will go from bad to worse. We're already walking a fine line. Things can't afford to get worse from here." Shikamaru felt for his friend, he didn't like this anymore than Chouji. First off, he wasn't fond of the actual plan.

To set the scene, Neji was assigned the role as negotiator – as he was the only one in the group officially trained in the art. After him, Kanoko was assigned as his personal bodyguard and was to be with him at all times. The point of this was to keep Kanoko in close proximity to the Kazekage, who Neji would be negotiating with on behalf of Konoha.

To escort these two to the previously agreed on half way point for negotiations, was group A.

Group A consisted of himself, Naruto, Ino, Sakura, Chouji, Tenten, Lee, and Shizune. He and his teammates were assigned to the inner perimeter along with Neji. They, alongside Temari and Kankuro on Suna's side, were there to keep any threats that made it through the outer perimeter away from Gaara and Kanoko. All of them were distance fighters and while Shikamaru's team's skills were unique to trapping and interrogating, they were still flexible enough to fill a protection role as well.

Group B was a few clicks behind Group A. Group B, while the "negotiations" were occurring, would stay hidden on the outskirts of the rendezvous point. Group B consisted of Hinata, Kiba, and Sasuke. Having the best sensory prowess of their group – besides Kanoko's own sensing abilities – they were in the best position to sound the alarm once the Akatsuki closed in. Once the alarm goes off, Group B and the rest of Group A – Naruto, Tenten, and Lee – would join the rest of Suna's hidden forces and form an outer ring around the rest of them.

This large outer ring will be responsible for helping Group C – made up of Kakashi and Gai – trap or kill the Akatsuki members. Trap being the preferred goal.

Once the battle began, Sakura and Shizune would hang back and only step into the battlefield to aid fallen shinobi off the field or quickly heal impeding injuries so they may continue the fight.

Shino and Torune would also be present, but are forbidden from entering the fight. Their sole job was to create an opening for Konoha's and Suna's forces to escape if the retreat call sounds.

And then there was their "last defense".

This was the part of the plan that worried Shikamaru the most. If an Akatsuki member breaks through the outer perimeter and the inner perimeter, than Kanoko and the Kazekage are to defend their position and push the Akatsuki member back to the outer ring. If they are unable to do so, Kanoko is then left with the decision to sound the retreat and teleport the Kazekage back to Suna or continue the fight in the hopes that they will have enough manpower to overcome the situation.

Only the Kazekage and Kanoko are allowed to sound the retreat. If the Kazekage calls the retreat, it means that Kanoko has been taken out and the Kazekage is now vulnerable.

As if the whole plan wasn't enough of a headache, when Shikamaru asked the Hokage what they would do if the Akatsuki started to target Naruto, Tsunade had no answer – at least not a very good one in his opinion. Shikamaru knows the major point to his and Naruto's training over the last couple years was to make him ready to face the Akatsuki, but that didn't sit well with Shikamaru. Naruto was important to him. He didn't want his friend to face those kinds of odds on his own and Shikamaru liked to make plans, review those plans, and solidify those plans.

And with the madness of everything else going on in this situation, it would only make planning for the worst harder.

The whole situation left Shikamaru with the worst headache he has ever had and as a result, has made him unpleasant to be around.

Shikamaru looked up towards his sister, watching her long dark hair swish back and forth. Kanoko had been acting strange the last few days too… When he first came home after the two and a half year long trip, he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little jealous of the relationship Kanoko and his father had. He would often find the two of them playing shogi, training in the back, working with the deer, or simply debating several topics about the world. Shikamaru never saw his father as neglectful, but watching him spend so much time with Kanoko over himself…

But the last two days… Kanoko hasn't even looked his way. At the dinner table the two would be silent. Maybe Kaa-san would get a word or two out of them, but both acted like the other wasn't there. The weirdest part, Shikamaru didn't sense any hostility between the two. His father would simply look at Kanoko from across the room every once and awhile, acting like he wanted to say something, but finding himself lost for words and walking away.

Kanoko, now that he actually thought about it, was probably the most hostile of the two – if you could call it that. She wasn't mean or rude, but she acted as if he wasn't there. Tou-san didn't call out to her, so she had yet to ignore him, but Kanoko would start up a conversation with anyone in the house that wasn't their father. She went out to feed the deer on her own, ignorant to their father right behind her doing the same. She waited until he left his office to grab any scrolls or books. And she either asked Shikamaru to train with her or went out to find another of their friends to train with her.

Shikamaru hadn't quite gotten up the courage to ask what was going on either.

"We'll rest here for the night." Kanoko told the group, pulling Shikamaru from his thoughts. Looking up, Shikamaru watched everyone sigh in relief before spreading out to set up camp. They were still in the desert, which made setting up camp and feeling any sort of security difficult to put it mildly. It wasn't the worst though. The area around them was full of hills and rocks, kind of like it was the bottom of a large lake a long time ago, so they had some privacy. The area wasn't all that sandy either. Just dry earth mostly with some vicious looking weeds.

Shikamaru saw Kanoko and Sasuke take off into the abyss of sand to make sure there were no threats in the area while Neji took off with Lee in the opposite direction. Turning around, Shikamaru called out to Kiba, Naruto and Chouji, "Hey! The girls and I will set up camp while you guys go find us food, if you can." Shikamaru added that last part after a thought, thinking it would be enough to challenge their egos and get them moving.

Kiba and Chouji turned around and looked ready to accept when Naruto gave his friend a nasty look, "Uh-un! Why do **you** get your lazy ass out there and find your own food!?"

From behind, Shikamaru heard Ino giggle at Shikamaru's woes. Sighing tiredly, Shikamaru grumbled quietly, "Damn Naruto…"

Thankfully Sakura also had a vested interest in kicking Naruto out and raised her fist in the air threateningly, "Listen to Shikamaru, Naruto! You're the only one here not a chunin, so you're the low man on the totem pole!"

Naruto opened his mouth to argue that he was still the strongest one here when Sakura started to growl, "Don't think I've forgotten about you spilling ice cream all over me embarrassing me in front of everyone, including the Hokage!"

Naruto whined, "Come on Sakura-chan! That was **ages** ago!"

Stomach growling and growing annoyed by the argument back and forth, Kiba turned to Chouji and tilted his head. Chouji laughed lightly and nodded.

Just as Naruto was about to make another good point – in his opinion – he felt his body be lifted off the ground, "Wow!" Looking on back and forth, the blonde instantly recognized his captors, "Hey! Wait a minute! Guys! Come on!"

Kiba just snorted, "Just be quiet and roll with it Naruto. I'm too hot and sweaty to care anymore."

Chouji just nodded, "And I heard that there are some good boar out here, so I'm excited!"

The girls laughed with each other at the scene before turning around and getting the camping supplies from their bags. Shikamaru sighed before walking around to join them in setting up. Locking eyes with a certain pinkette, Shikamaru grumbled internally when he figured their reasons for privacy from the other guys was one in the same.

Both of them turned their heads towards Hinata, but unfortunately for Shikamaru, Sakura was a second faster in getting her question out.

"Hey Hinata, question for you." Sakura posed while helping Ino place the braces for the tents up.

Hinata looked up from her bag with a curious face, "Yes Sakura-chan?"

"I haven't seen Neji around lately. Are he and Kanoko fighting about something?" Sakura asked rather bluntly.

Ino looked over, equally as interested while Tenten and Shizune looked slightly uncomfortable – both for different reasons.

Turning a little shy, Hinata quietly spoke, "Well.. uhh…"

Looking to save her friend, Tenten sighed, "Neji's angry at Kanoko that she won't do anything to help the clan situation and, from what I can tell, Kanoko's just annoyed with Neji's insistence on the topic. They got into a pretty bad brawl over it a few weeks ago."

Shikamaru's head whipped around from what he was doing, "Wait, hold up. What clan _**situation**_?"

Ino turned to her teammate to explain, "I'm surprised Uncle Shikaku hasn't told you about it. The main and branch families of all the clans in Konoha are at odds. In some clans, like the Hyuuga, it's turning into domestic disputes. Even the smaller clans are starting to see minor disturbances between clan members."

Shikamaru let that piece of information set in before he asked follow up questions, "Not great, but not surprising. The village is still not on hundred percent and relations between the elders and the clansmen have never been the greatest, but…" Shikamaru paused before continuing, "Even our clans are seeing it? The Nara Clan has never been that concerned with clan law and the Yamanaka Clan is even more laid back – due to the fact you all are mind readers."

Ino nodded before turning a little meek, "Apparently, a lot of the unrest has to do with the number of female clan heirs. The elders, especially the Leaf Clans' Council aren't too keen on the idea of the Yamanaka, Hyuuga, and Nara clans being run by female clan heads."

Shikamaru just sighed in annoyance, "Really? I've been counted out already?" Shikamaru shrugged, "I mean, I'm not complaining. The whole "clan head" thing sounds like way too much work, but it would be nice to be at least **considered** alongside my sister every once and awhile."

Sakura gave Shikamaru a bland look, "So you say you're not complaining, right before you start complaining? Sounds logical."

Shikamaru returned Sakura's bland look, "You need to stop hanging out with my sister. There can only be one sarcastic know-it-all in the Leaf and Kanoko's not moving out anytime soon."

"Anyways!" Tenten cut in.

Shikamaru turned from Sakura to ask something else, "But what does this whole thing have to do with Kanoko, besides being female and an heir to the Nara clan?"

Hinata spoke up this time, "It's because of what she did for you…"

Shikamaru frowned, "You're talking about the Hyuuga thing."

Sakura was the one to pop up this time, "Wait, what Hyuuga thing?" Sakura's head went back and forth between Hinata and Ino, "Did Kanoko not tell me something important, again?!"

Ino shrugged, "I only know a little bit from what Tou-san told me." Ino turned to Hinata, "Only that it had to do with an arranged marriage and Kanoko forced both clans to fold on the idea."

Tenten nodded, "That's all Neji told me too. And it's also what's sparked this whole clan war - class war actually, to be technical."

Shizune spoke up for the first time, "It's not a war yet. Lady Tsunade will not let that happen."

This seemed to calm Ino, Sakura and Tenten, but Shikamaru and Hinata didn't seem comforted by the news. Speaking up, Shikamaru looked directly at Hinata, "What exactly happened?" Shikamaru was firm in his request. He had also been told the same amount of information by his father, but he never told him that it started the beginnings of a civil war. Something more must have happened…

Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but closed it quickly when she saw her teammate jump onto the rock above them – Kanoko walking a little slower behind him.

Shikamaru cursed at the poor timing, but was grateful that he at least knew more to the story than before. He honestly didn't think he would get much time to ask questions anyways. Kanoko and Sasuke had proved to be quite the efficient team since he and Naruto had returned.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow at the skeleton of a tent, "I knew you were lazy, but to think you have such an overwhelming impact on the others to be so as well… I will have to try this tactic in battle."

Shikamaru gave his sister a dry look just before he heard another voice he found equally annoying these days.

"Haha! What would that look like?! Shika-Lazy-No-Jutsu! Then you throw him into the pit of shinobi and see what happens?! Hahahaha!" Naruto bellowed out as he rounded the corner with Kiba and Chouji in tow with dinner.

"Oh yeah, you guys are just a laugh." Shikamaru retorted dryly.

Kanoko smirked at her brother humorously before her eye caught movement. Her face lost its amused look as she spoke, "Lee. Hyuuga. Anything to report?"

Neji returned Kanoko's expressionless look with one of his own, "The area is clear."

Kanoko nodded before walking down to help Ino and Sakura pull the sheet over the poles of the tent.

Shikamaru continued to fish out the supplies they would need for the night, but not before catching Hinata with a look. Pale eyes met small dark brown ones.

The mission might come first right now, but Shikamaru was going to pin down what was going on with his village and his family. After all, he promised himself that he wouldn't let his sister carry all the weight on her shoulders anymore.

Brown eyes met firm blue ones. Shikamaru sighed to himself. He knew Naruto let him have that last one, but he also knew the blonde wasn't letting him off the hook until he told him what was going on.

Shikamaru just wished he knew himself.

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* * *

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"So the Sand and Leaf are meeting up in the desert to discuss their ally agreement…" A voice spoke in the dark, his deep voice echoing off the damp walls of the cave.

"Do you suppose it is a trap?" Another voice questioned, the calmest of the group.

"Ha! A trap! For us? The Akatsuki?! What a joke!"

"Shut up Deidara…" A scratchy voice replied.

"Why you-" Deidara started.

"Enough." A voice boomed, "Whether it be a trap or not, neither village will have the resources to defend against our attack. If it is a trap, it will only be their undoing."

"Oooo you sound so confident! You sure you aren't being _**overconfident**_?" A squeaky voice responded.

"Uggg! Who invited him?!" Deidara growled out.

The deep voice ignored Deidara and replied to the other, "If Sasori and Deidara prove to be inadequate, Itachi and Kisame will step in."

Itachi fell silent at the order. No doubt his little brother will be on this mission, knowing his luck.

"Yeah, sure." Kisame answered for the both of them, having gotten used to his partner's silence.

Deidara snorted at the fish/human hybrid, "Well we won't need it! Right Sasori?!"

The puppet master did not respond. Not because he was doubtful he would come out the victor, but because he didn't see a need to respond. Or a care to.

"Sasori?! Come on man! Back me up!" Deidara complained.

"Just shut up and move." Was Sasori's response as he turned to leave.

Itachi watched the two pass him before shifting his eyes forward again to the leader of the group. The room stayed silent for a moment longer. Just as the two were about to exit, the leader spoke again, "It's likely that the Leaf will be using their fuinjutsu expert to teleport the Kazekage out of there if things do not go their way."

Sasori turned his head slightly to listen further, stopping his movements towards the door.

"If she is present…"

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"…Kill her first."

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* * *

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 **Author's Note: I'm alive!**

 **And that's really all I have to say at the moment.**

 **And of course, thank you for the amazing and beautiful (I'm going to get crap for that later, but...) FreelanceBum for editing my all over the place chapter! And so incredibly quickly too! Just the bestest-estest beta evvvvver! (Going to get crap for that too)**

 **And thank you very much to everyone who hasn't given up on me! I hope to deliver more goodness soon!**


	41. Shippuden Chapter 4

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Shikamaru stared blankly ahead – completely uninterested in the negotiations a few yard from him. He was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and his face resting on his hand. His eyes were half lidded and all he could think about is all the time he was wasting when he could be napping.

"Urggg!" Naruto groaned, ruffling his hair in frustration, "I'm going to die of boredom!"

Sakura's eye twitched dangerously before thinking, " _I can't handle it anymore! Three days! Three mind numbing days of listening to Naruto moan and groan, and_ _ **I can't handle it anymore**_ _!_ " Sakura's green eyes settled on the back of Kanoko, who sat several yards away from them at the negotiation table. Sakura gritted her teeth, " _How come I_ _ **always**_ _get stuck on Naruto duty?!_ "

Naruto flopped on his back with a loud thump, "THIS IS TORTURE!"

" _I'll show you torture!_ " Sakura thought as her head slowly rotating around, "Naaaruuuuutooooooo!"

Dark energy filled the area, causing Naruto to sit up quickly with wide eyes. "Ack!" Naruto squawked out as he scurried backwards from his pink haired teammate. The blond went white as he placed his hands protectively in front of himself before pleading loudly, "Ahh! Sakura-chan! What'd I do?!"

"Shh!" Tenten quickly hushed at the two of them, "Neji's giving us the evil eye!"

Shikamaru lazily opened one eye to look ahead in the direction the negotiations were taking place. Shikamaru sighed tiredly at the sight. Sure enough, Neji had twisted his upper body around to glare intently at them – promising death regardless of present company.

Lee quickly stood up with a huge smile on his face, "You are incorrect, dear Tenten! I have seen that look many times on my ever youthful rival's face! It means battle is about to begin!"

Shikamaru smack his head into his palm, " _Only Lee would interpret a death threat as an act of friendly sparring…_ "

Tenten quickly yanked her teammate down and hushed him as well.

Turning his head to the sound of light crunching, Shikamaru gave a quick look to his two teammates. Chouji was quietly eating one of his snacks with his eyes focused on the night sky above while Ino seemed to be focused on Sakura and Naruto – probably weighing the pros and cons of letting Sakura kill her teammate.

Sighing again, Shikamaru turned his eyes back to the spot ahead where the negotiations were taking place. The elder Nara twin looked at his sister's back with a tired expression, " _As annoying as these guys are, at least I don't have to hear Neji and Temari bicker like two old housewives…_ "

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Kanoko felt another headache coming on, causing her to rub the bridge of her nose in frustration. Kanoko groaned slightly before speaking, "Leave it Neji. Their nerves are just getting the better of them."

The Hyuuga scoffed as he turned back around, "It's completely unprofessional and downright disrespectful." Neji crossed his arms as he gave Kanoko a side glare, "This is completely your fault."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow before tiredly responding, "Is that so?"

Neji scoffed again, "You'd let them get away with murder if they so much as shot you a puppy eyed look."

Kanoko just closed her eyes – refusing to acknowledge or argue with Neji. It was neither the time nor place.

Temari broke out in a deep, booming laughter at the two of them, "Is that all it takes to best the mighty Nara Kanoko?" Temari sent Kanoko a cocky smirk, "Didn't think you were so soft."

Kanoko slowly opened her eyes to give Temari an expressionless look.

"Temari." Gaara spoke lightly, but in a warning tone.

Temari just smirked at her brother before shrugging with her arms crossed. Turning her sharp teal eyes to pale ones, Temari's smirk grew as she taunted the Hyuuga before her, "It gives me a great sense of joy to see you suffer so miserably." Temari closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, "You won't find that kind of behavior from us Sand nin, of course."

Neji's fingers tightened around the arms of his chair dangerously. The sound of his teeth gritting reached everyone at the table, making Shizune heavily sigh . This was in no way shape for form the first verbal fight Neji and Temari had gotten into since this whole thing started.

Two years ago, when both the Sand and Leaf were recovering from different attacks, their villages had decided to put a greater emphasis on foreign relations. And due to the shortage of good candidates, both villages were forced to look at the younger generation of shinobi – untrained, but full of potential.

As a result, Neji and Temari joined the diplomacy ranks and became the youngest ambassadors for their respective villages. Each were a force to be reckoned with. Both were born into old families with deep ties into the politics of the villages and both were forced to use words, etiquette, and strategy in order to survive. In many ways, they had a lot in common.

Unfortunately for anyone within ear shot of the two of them, they did not agree.

" _Why Lady Tsunade? Why would you do this to me?_ " Shizune thought depressingly, before peeking a look across the table. If everything else wasn't difficult enough to deal with, Shizune had the unfortunate luck of facing the Sand's representing elder and her teacher's longtime rival, Chiyo.

" _And she hasn't once stop glaring at me since she caught sight of me three days ago…_ " Shizune thought with a miserable sigh.

Dropping her shoulders, Shizune tentatively spoke, "Perhaps we should call it a night…"

Shizune trailed off as she saw Kanoko unfold an arm from her chest and careless point to a spot behind the Sand representatives.

Temari blinked before frowning slightly and turning around to see what Kanoko was pointing at.

Yards away, where the Sand team was residing, those at the negotiations table could make out several puppets moving back and forth. Clapping and fits of laughter traveled to their ears, causing Temari to go red in a mix of embarrassment and anger.

Jumping out of her chair, Temari raised a fist in the air and hollered to her brother, "KANKURO! What the hell do you think you're doing?! A fucking puppet show?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Gaara sighed internally as he watched his brother jump before spinning around with a wide eyed and fearful look on his face. Chuckling nervously, Kankuro called back, "Come on sis! It's been hours! I'm just trying to keep the men-" Kankuro paused when he heard a few sharp sounds of protest, "-and women from falling asleep!"

Neji crossed his arms and smirked coolly, "Yes, I can see that your _Sand nin_ are _shining_ examples of _truly terrifying and dutiful_ shinobi." Neji leaned back in his chair and further taunted the Sand kunoichi, "Tell me, does your brother also do other sensitive and S-ranked events, like funerals and assassinations?"

Temari's teal eyes snapped towards Neji. Sparks flew dangerously between teal and pale colored eyes.

Gaara closed his eyes, counting backwards from ten before slowly standing, "I second the Leaf's motion to deliberate until tomorrow morning."

Chiyo looked up at her Kazekage with an amused smirk, "Oh, I don't know about that. Things are finally getting good!" Chiyo let out a scratchy bark of laughter, "Five-thousand ryo says Temari breaks the Hyuuga's nose!"

Temari smirked at Chiyo's bet, "I'd let you bet that Elder Chiyo, but that bastard knows to protect his face after I sucker punched him last time."

The smirk from Neji's face quickly fell and was replaced with a look of anger, "That was a lucky hit! I thought you were apologizing, not distracting me so you could get a low blow in!"

"I was apologizing, but you had to be an asshole about it!" Temari shouted before scoffing, "And seriously? A low blow? Trust me, if I was going to give you a low blow, you'd be walking funny to this day."

Neji fumed in anger and opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Kanoko.

"Enough!" Kanoko bellow out in a deep, commanding voice. Giving Neji a sharp look, Kanoko turned her gaze to Gaara and bowed respectfully, "Please forgive the disruption. I believe you are wise in postponing the negotiations until tomorrow." Kanoko straightened her back before speaking again, "Perhaps you and I could speak tomorrow before the start of negotiations and discuss whether further action is necessary."

Neji gave Kanoko a cold look, but didn't say anything as the Kazekage nodded in agreement, "I believe that would be fruitful." Gaara nodded once more before turning away from the Leaf nin and walking away.

Temari gave Neji one more annoyed look before turning and following behind her brother.

Kanoko watched the three Sand nin walk away before turning to Neji and Shizune, "Let's go join the others." Kanoko looked out into the distance before speaking low, "I will recall Sasuke's team."

Shizune frowned, "Do you think that's a good idea? What if the Akatsuki attack?"

Kanoko frowned, "At this point, it seems unlikely." Kanoko paused to look up at the night sky, "But if they do, the days have not been kind to our stamina. It is best that we stick close to one and another, until we move out tomorrow."

Neji crossed his arms as they started to walk towards the group, "Naruto isn't going to like that we are just giving up."

Kanoko hummed lightly before responding, "Neither the Leaf nor the Sand can afford a mission failure. However, performing the same actions and expecting different results is, I believe, the definition of insanity." Kanoko paused to smirk, "Something I strongly believe the Uchiha have a monopoly over."

"I can hear you." Sasuke growled over the intercom in Kanoko's ear.

Kanoko's smirk grew, "I am aware."

"Gai and I are going to stay out in the field, if you don't mind Noko-chan." Kakashi's voice fluttered over the intercom in an amused tone.

Kanoko's eye twitched, "I don't know who you heard that name from…" Kanoko paused to curse Shikaku in her head, "…but call me that again and I give everyone a reason to start calling you Kashi-chan."

"So mean." Kakashi responded with a slight whine.

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Sasuke frowned at the food in front of him.

The Uchiha poked at it with his chopsticks a few times before pushing it away and choosing to look around the room instead.

All of the Leaf nin, minus Kakashi and Gai, were having a late night dinner in one of the many dining halls inside the Demon Dessert Tower. It was nothing but stone and metal – including the tables – and was surprisingly cold for being located in a hot dessert.

Looking across the table, Sasuke took a moment to look over Kanoko – who was staring intently at her food. The two of them decided to sit as far away from the rest of the group as possible – surprising Sasuke a little. While it was common for him to want separation from anyone too loud or annoying – aka Naruto – Sasuke was curious why Kanoko decided to join him. While not a social butterfly, he knew that Kanoko would choose a spot near her brother nine times out of ten – even if that meant sitting near all the madness.

Scanning her quickly, Sasuke noted that her shoulders were tight and nails were bleeding slightly. Sasuke frowned at the sight. Over the years, Sasuke has learned a few things about Kanoko that only those really close to her know. When Kanoko picked at her nails it meant one of two things: Either she was frustrated – and there was a 50% chance her anger was directed at him – or she was nervous about something.

Sasuke shook his head. He didn't blame her for being nervous. Nothing had gone right with this mission so far, but in the same token, nothing had gone wrong either. It left things in this weird, limbo state and none of them knew how to handle it.

Sasuke paused in his thoughts to look over the others.

Over at the other end of the room was their resident dobe, Naruto, who was stuck in a vicious arm wrestling match with the equally insane Lee. Sasuke smirked in amusement when Naruto's teammate, Sakura, picked the two of them up and slammed their heads together. Based upon the pinkette's shouts, the two were fighting over the right to ask her out on a date – something she clearly didn't appreciate.

Just a table over Sasuke saw the other three kunoichi, Hinata, Tenten and Ino, giggling at the scene. At the other end of the table sat Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru. Shikamaru had his head down, face first, on the table with his arms curled around him while his two seat mates started fighting over the last piece of meat between them.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kiba knew that Chouji always made a big deal about the last bite of a meal, but the fanged nin always went out his way to steal it from the larger leaf nin – claiming the piece was for Akamaru. Sasuke smirked lightly to himself, maybe one day Chouji will figure out that Kiba just does it for attention, and not for Akamaru as he claims.

Shifting his onyx eyes to the last party in the room, Sasuke focused on the two that always put him on edge – each for different reasons.

Shizune was one of the Hokage's advisors and assistants, but more than that, she was also a poisons master and high level healer. Sasuke didn't like knowing that if she ever needed to treat him, he would be unaware if what she was giving him was an elixir or toxin.

And then there was Hyuuga Neji. Sasuke's mouth dipped into a hard frown as he thought about the jounin. Even after the last few years changing them both for the better, Sasuke and Neji never felt any sort of comradery for each other. If faced off against an enemy of the Leaf, the two would work together, but that was where their relationship started and ended.

Neji and Shizune were standing near one of the small circular windows, speaking in hushed voices. Sasuke figured they were trying to figure out what Kanoko and the Kazekage had in mind next.

Sasuke frowned to himself. Kanoko hadn't uttered a single word since she informed the team that they would be calling it a night. Sasuke turned back to the female Nara as she continued to stare blankly at her food. Picking up his chopsticks, Sasuke nudged Kanoko's plate – making her jump slightly before looking up to give him the evil eye.

Sasuke just returned her look with an expressionless one before speaking in a hushed tone, "Have you sensed anything?"

Kanoko's frown deepened. Sasuke watched her eyes shift quickly to where her brother sat with his head down before shifting back to meeting his own onyx ones. The stared at each other for a moment before Kanoko spoke, "No..." A shadow took over Kanoko's face as her voice tightened, "I… don't feel anything."

Sasuke frowned, "What do you mean?"

Silence filled the area again. Sasuke watched as Kanoko's eyes shifted around the room and landing on her brother once more, "I cannot sense anything."

Sasuke's frown deepened before he shrugged, "Then why are you acting like we'll be attacked at any moment?" Sasuke frowned, "I know how much area your sensing abilities can cover under the worst conditions. Out here, where there's practically no life, you should be able to tell us long in advance if the enemy is about to strike." Sasuke didn't add, but he was also confident in his teammate's abilities to see danger coming. He's been on missions where he's witness Kiba wake up from a deep sleep – having sniffed something miles away that doesn't belong. Add in two Hyuugas and Kakashi, and Sasuke wasn't too concerned about his brother sneaking up on them.

Kanoko shook her head, "You are not understanding me." The brunette turned to Sasuke and focused on him with a wide eyed, almost crazed look, "I sense **nothing**."

Sasuke frowned before his eyes widened – a knot forming in his throat and settling in his stomach.

Kanoko's expression worsened as her voice started to crack, "Sasuke. I think… I think I've been hit with a strong genjutsu and… I can't get out of it."

Onyx eyes turned red in an instant. His Sharingan spun rapidly as his chakra spiked.

The room's noise ceased in an instance as everyone twisted their heads around to see Sasuke jump out of his seat.

"Sasuk-?" Kiba started.

"We're under attack!" Sasuke roared.

Neji and Hinata were quick to activate their dojutsus while Shikamaru leaped over the tables towards his sister's still form – instantly recognizing something was wrong with Kanoko.

Shikamaru kneeled next to Kanoko and looked over her with sharp dark brown eyes. Shikamaru's gaze traveled from his sister's tight expression to where her nails were piercing the skin on top of her left hand. Dark eyes snapped up to meet red ones, "What are you seeing?"

Sasuke's eyes were rapidly reading all the information his eyes were providing him. After a slight pause, Sasuke's teeth gritted, "A genjutsu. One of _**his**_."

Shikamaru frowned, "Who?" Shikamaru's eyes shifted to the blood seeping from his sister's hand – where her own nails were puncturing the skin – and continued his questioning, "What kind of genjutsu can't be broken with pain?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to clarify when his teammate's shriek cut him off.

"We need to get out of here!" Hinata shouted, "Now!"

Shikamaru's head snapped up. His mind raced at a hundred miles an hour as he called out, "Chouji!"

"Got it!" The large man shouted as he enlarged his fist and smashed through the wall leading to the outside.

"Everyone out!" Neji echoed his cousin's warning, "Something big is headed straight at us!"

Shikamaru cursed low as his attention was drawn back to his sister – who hadn't moved an inch. Wrapping his arms around her, Shikamaru picked her up and dashed out the opening his teammate made. The rest of the group sprinted out – either racing down the side of the tower or just jumping straight out towards the sand below.

Naruto quickly made hand seals and shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Several Naruto popped into existence in a puff of smoke. Naruto looked at his clones and shouted, "You know the drill!"

"On it!" A chorus shot back at him before splitting up. Each Naruto clone raced over to a member of the group – sticking next to them as everyone ran from the scene.

Turning his head back around as he ran, Naruto gritted his teeth at the tower, " _We need to get over to Gaara!_ " Stopping his feet, Naruto spun around and sprinted back towards the area – determined to make it to the opposite side of the tower to warn Gaara.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, her eyes catching her teammate running back towards the tower.

"I need to warn Gaara!" Naruto shouted.

"NARUTO!" Neji shouted as his eyes went wide.

Naruto snapped his head around into the direction of the Hyuuga's voice.

"Wha-" Naruto started to call out in an annoyed tone.

*BOOOOOOOM*

Naruto felt the rush of air and the heat of the fire him just before the pain of the explosion hit.

"Ahhh!"

"Naruto!" Sakura called out as slammed her feet into the sand and twisted her body around before pushing off towards her teammate. Zipping around the flying debris, Sakura grabbed Naruto around the waist. Bear-hugging him, Sakura used a chunk of the falling stone tower to propel herself and Naruto away from the scene and towards the sand below.

"I'll cover you!" Hinata told Sakura as she sped in front of the pair. Taking a stance, Hinata activated her Byakugan and faced the destruction – eyes sharp and ready to defend her comrades.

Sakura nodded in thanks before quickly pushing her chakra out to her hands and healing the burns on Naruto's body. Shizune was at Sakura and Naruto's side in an instant, looking over Naruto and checking for any puncture wounds as Sakura's hands continued to glow green.

"Incoming!" Neji shouted as a massive flock white birds glided over the top of the falling tower and dived towards them.

"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" Neji and Hinata shouted in unison towards the odd shaped birds.

"Take this!" Tenten shouted jumping in the air and ripping open a scroll – sending out several sharp weapons.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke spat as fire flew from his mouth.

All four attacks hit in unison causing the dark night light up in a mix of white and orange as the oddly shaped birds exploded on impact.

"Expansion Jutsu!" Chouji shouted, enlarging his fists and curving them protectively around the group as the heat of the explosions ripped through the air. A thick smoke lined the air and mixed with the dark of the night, making it nearly impossible to see.

Chouji hissed in pain as he shrunk his hands to a normal size.

"Chouji! Give me your hands." Ino told her teammate, her own hands extending over his and glowing green.

"Thanks Ino." Chouji said with a pained grin.

Ino opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by their ear buds squelching.

"Kanoko! Report!" Kakashi's deep voice called over the radio, "We're seeing smoke rising from your location!"

Shikamaru was quick to respond in a coarse tone, "Kanoko's down. What's your position?"

The radio squelched again, "A couple miles out." There was pause in the traffic before Kakashi's voice was heard again, "Explain. What do you mean Kanoko's down?"

Sasuke answered with a dark voice, "She's under one of _**Itachi's**_ genjutsus."

"The Tsukuyomi?" Kakashi asked with a tight voice.

Sasuke looked towards Kanoko before responding tentatively, "No. This is different." Sasuke frowned as his eyes shifted to his teammates "But to continue to hold her like this… he has to be around here somewhere."

Hinata and Kiba looked at each other before looking back at Sasuke and nodding.

"Hold up." Shikamaru spoke, already seeing what they were planning. Shikamaru gave Sasuke a pointed look before holding his hand to his ear and speaking over the intercom again, "Kakashi-"

"Shikamaru!" Neji called out, sprinting towards the Nara twins, "Above you!"

Ripping through the night air was a large, white, owl-like creature with a robed figure on its back.

Shikamaru quickly bolted out of the way as Neji moved to intercept the diving creature, "Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"

A burst of air and chakra ripped through the air and smacked straight into the flying object – sending them both shooting back through the air. The robed figure quickly flung his hand around and another large bird-like creature grew out from his hand.

"Nice try you little shit!" The man called out with a crazed laugh as he landed on the new bird's back, "But my art isn't one dimensional."

Neji's eyes narrowed on the figure, " _What does he mean by that?_ "

"Neji-niisan!" Hinata called out.

Neji turned at the sound of his cousin's voice only to let out a cough of pain as Hinata shoved her body into his. Neji hissed as his body flew through the air, but quickly caught himself before landing in the sand a few yards away.

"Hinata-sama-" Neji started in confusion as he looked up to where his cousin was, only for his eyes to widen as the ground exploded in front of him.

"HINATA!" Kiba roared as he raced towards her.

Smoke and sand filled the air – thickening it.

Grinning wickedly, the blond Akatsuki member used his clay bird to sweep towards the now unprotected form of Nara Kanoko.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted, digging his feet into the sand between the enemy and Kanoko.

The man's eyes went wide at the massive ball of fire racing towards him – forcing him to make a sharp turn upwards, toward the sky.

"Hinata!" Kiba shouted again with Akamaru next to him – trying to figure out where his teammate was, but having difficulty due to the smog.

A small cough was heard, "Over here…"

The smoke cleared, showing a fairly unscathed Hinata with just a couple burns on her hands and lower legs.

Shizune was quickly at Hinata's side, healing the small wounds before staring at the Hyuuga heiress in wonder, "How did you avoid the blast?"

Hinata shook her head, "I didn't." Everyone stared at Hinata in confusion before she clarified, looking over at the now standing Naruto, "Naruto-kun protected me…"

Sakura gave Naruto a confused look before looking to her other side at one of Naruto's clones, "Oh! You mean his clone!"

Hinata nodded with a small smile.

Ino blinked at the smiling blond before clicking her fingers, "That's why you created shadow clones and had them stick near us!"

"That's one reason, yes." Shikamaru spoke as Naruto created another clone to stick near the healing Hinata.

"Shikamaru!" Kakashi's scratchy voice flittered over the radio, "Shikamaru! I need you to report!"

Shikamaru cursed low as a mix of white creatures fell from the sky. "We're heavily engaged with an Akatsuki member! Based on our mission brief, it's Deidara of the Rock Village!" Shikamaru yelled over the intercom as the creatures started exploding in different locations around the area.

When nothing but static responded to the Nara, he cursed aloud before yelling out to the group, "Sasuke!"

The Uchiha in questioned turned his head for a moment before leaping backwards as Deidara and his 'bird' dove towards him – leaving a trail of explosions in his wake.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee shouted out, leaping towards Deidara just as he and his creature hovered over the surface.

"Shit!" Deidara called out, flipping backwards onto his other bird – just barely missing the kick.

"Not so fast!" Tenten shouted, ripping open a scroll and letting loose several flying kunai at the fleeing Akatsuki member.

Turning to Sasuke, Lee nodded, "Leave this to Team Gai!"

"We'll help them! Get to Shikamaru!" Ino shouted as Chouji expanded his hands once more and started swatting the explosive birds away from their comrades.

Sasuke frowned but nodded before speeding back towards Shikamaru. Just as Sasuke skidded to a halt, Naruto and Sakura joined him next to the Nara twins.

Sakura extended her glowing hand towards Kanoko and frowned, "I can't break this genjutsu either…"

Shikamaru didn't respond. His sister always had an odd paranoia about genjutsus and as a result, had backups for backups in order to avoid being caught in one. So, if she hadn't already released herself from the genjutsu…

"What's the plan?" Naruto asked with a serious tone, locking eyes with Shikamaru.

Shikamaru paused as he looked over the scene. Closing his eyes for a moment, they snapped back open and looked towards Sasuke, "If I send the three of you, there's a chance one or all of you won't come back."

Sasuke paused. Onyx eyes shifted to where his teammates were helping Team Gai fight off Deidara and his endless army of exploding animals. Looking back at Shikamaru, he spoke, "I'm not going to let that man take anything else from me." Sasuke's fists tightened harshly before forcing his hands to relax and looking slowly towards Naruto, "How many clones can you make?"

Naruto blinked. His face shifted into a thoughtful look before looking up and mumbling numbers, "A lot."

Sasuke gave Naruto an annoyed look, "Idiot. That tells me nothing."

Shikamaru sighed as rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache come on, "Over a thousand." Shikamaru shifted his tired eyes to Sasuke, "What do you need?"

"Enough to piss off Itachi." Sasuke answered.

"Oh who's being vague now?! Huh?!" Naruto scoffed out with his arms crossed.

Sakura smirked, "So what you're saying is that you just need one."

Sasuke smirked while Naruto turned to Sakura with a slack jaw and a look of pure betrayal.

Shikamaru sighed again before ignoring the two on his left, "Sasuke, take Hinata, Kiba and…" Shikamaru looked over at Sakura before looking over at Shizune. " _Sakura's strength is in medical jutsu and taijutsu, where Shizune is more of a distance fight – not to mention has more war experience._ " Shikamaru thought before finishing his earlier sentence, "…Shizune and search the area for the source of Kanoko's genjutsu." Shikamaru paused before looking Sasuke in the eye with a firm expression, "I'm not going to bother with a lecture. We all know that's more my sister's style than mine, but…" Shikamaru paused again, "She'd bury me alive in deer shit if I didn't remind you." Shikamaru's eyes shifted to Hinata and Kiba, "It's your job as team leader to bring your subordinates back alive, even if it means sacrificing something else."

Sasuke responded with a blank expression and a silent gaze before standing up straight and looking over at his teammates. After a moment, Sasuke's dark eyes settled on Kanoko's quivering form before speaking quietly, "I know. Like I said, I'm not letting him take anything else."

Shikamaru watched Sasuke for a moment longer before nodding and pulling out a scroll.

"Here." Shikamaru said, hold up the scroll towards Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Shikamaru smirked, "You're not the only one who thinks a thousand Narutos is our village's most deadly weapon."

Naruto grinned widely at his friend's statement before his eyes went wide, "Wait! Are you saying that you've been sealing my shadow clones in a scroll?! For how long?!"

Sasuke grabbed the scroll from Shikamaru and smirked back at him, "It's too bad Naruto doesn't still wear that eye blinding orange color. I'm sure my brother's Sharingan would start bleeding at the sight."

Shikamaru smirked in amusement, "You should be thanking me that I couldn't handle it anymore and burned all his clothes."

"You did WHAT?!" Naruto shouted, "That was you?! You're the reason I was forced to run around the around Fire Daimyo's palace in nothing but my froggy boxers?!"

Sasuke snorted in amusement at Naruto before dashing away from the area and towards his teammates – knowing time was of the essence.

Naruto gave Shikamaru a narrowed eyed look, "There's something seriously wrong with you."

Shikamaru lazily raised an eyebrow at Naruto before turning back to the fight ahead and drawling out, "It's hereditary."

Sakura coughed loudly to catch their attention, "Getting back to the slightly larger and life threatening problem at hand…"

Shikamaru nodded, his eyes following Sasuke, his team and Shizune as they speed off and out of sight, before closing his eyes and forming a circle with his hands. Only a couple moments passed before sharp brown eyes snapped open.

"We know Akatsuki members operate in pairs. We also know that Deidara of the sand is here as well as suspect Uchiha Itachi is somewhere in the area." Shikamaru paused for a moment as his eyes followed the enemy ahead as Team Gai continued to push him farther and farther away from Shikamaru's location – with the help of Ino and Chouji. Shifting his eyes to the horizon, Shikamaru spoke again, "We can also assume that Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei have run into another Akatsuki member."

"Why do you say that?" Sakura asked, her eyes peeled on the fight ahead – watching for any serious injuries.

"First…" Shikamaru started, "Kakashi-sensei told us he was only a couple miles out. That's equivalent to a few minutes for a shinobi – especially those two. Add in the fact that both are not responding to their radios…" Shikamaru placed Kanoko gently on the ground and slowly stood up, "Nothing less than an S-ranked shinobi is going to keep them from making their way to our location."

"It could be Itachi." Naruto suggested.

Shikamaru place his hand over his forearm – activating the seal as he continued, "It's possible, but it would make more tactical sense for Itachi to stay out of the battle in order to focus on keeping Kanoko grounded." Shikamaru pulled out three scrolls from the seal on his arm before unraveling one and dropping it on the ground, "My guess is we're facing two groups, or four Akatsuki members, in total."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully, "That's why Gaara isn't over here fighting too. They're caught up with another Akatsuki member."

Shikamaru nodded, "Exactly."

"So…" Sakura started, "What's the plan then?"

Shikamaru pushed chakra into foot and pressed it on the center of the rolled out scroll below. Lines of sealing calligraphy formed a hexagon shape around Kanoko. As the lines met up at the final point, the calligraphy glowed orange before creating a field barrier around the hissing Nara.

Shikamaru tossed Naruto the two scrolls in his hands and turned his head slightly to Sakura and smirked, "How about we fight fire with fire?"

Sakura blinked before grinning wickedly and cracking her knuckles, "Taichou isn't going to be happy with me if she hears I abandoned my post and joined the fight." Sakura's green eyes shifted to the multiple explosions ahead, "But with Kanoko out, there's no one to stop me!"

Without another word, Sakura raced off towards the fight – her hands rapidly running through hand signs as she ran.

Naruto threw his hands in the air and gave Shikamaru an incredulous look, "Thanks Shikamaru. Now _**I**_ have to be the responsible member of Team Kakashi! You know I hate that!"

Shikamaru smirked with amused eyes, "I know." And with that, Shikamaru took off at a similar speed as the pinkette before him.

Naruto let out a loud groan before turning his blue eyes to Kanoko's tossing form. Naruto straightened his back as his eyes hardened at the sight, "Keep fighting Kanoko. I haven't broken my promise to you, so don't you dare break your promise to me."

And with that, Naruto flared his chakra and shot towards the fight ahead – sending sand fly up at the force.

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"Sasuke! There's a seal underneath the Nara insignia on my arm-!" Kanoko tried shouting to the Uchiha as the scene before her started to fade away.

"Sasuke! Uchiha!" Kanoko called out again before cursing loudly, "Dammit!" The former Hokage flailed slightly as the walls started to spin and the ground began to sway. Kanoko growled quietly with building rage as she was forced to her hands and knees. The room started spinning more rapidly – colors mixing and lights flashing.

Kanoko's hands shot up to her pounding head and squeezed her eyes shut, " _Hold yourself together! It's a genjutsu! Are you really going to let some_ _ **infant**_ _play with your mind like this?!_ " Kanoko slowly opened one eye –squinting as she did – and tried to focus on something, anything to help her concentrate on getting out of this mess.

"What the…" Kanoko muttered as she slowly dropped her hands from her head and looked around the area. The light and peaceful chatter of passing civilians was the first thing caught Kanoko's attention before she took a closer look at her surroundings. Light tan, well packed dirt at her feet, cedar houses and business framing the road, fleeting shadows hopping from roof to roof, and the smell of various restaurants – particularly ramen. Even if this wasn't the same road Kanoko traveled day in and day out in order to deliver her father's lunch while he was in the office, Tobirama knew the _feeling_ of the home he created with his brother.

She was standing in the middle of Konoha's busiest street – the one leading to the Hokage's tower.

" _It's a genjutsu._ " Kanoko reminded herself with a frown firmly on her face, " _While you are here, dreaming of a fake home, your comrades – your family – are likely fighting for their lives._ " Kanoko's reddish orange eyes narrowed suspiciously at the people passing her, " _What is their intent in bringing me here? What purpose does it serve? Either they have underestimated my resolve or…_ "

Kanoko started walking down the dirt road towards a shop she frequently passed. The Nara stopped right where the shop should be and was unsurprised to find it boarded up.

" _This place has been boarded up for years and only just recently opened in the last year._ " Kanoko thought before turning around surveying her surroundings once more, " _Based on who we are up against, I am not surprised that the Uchiha would appear, but I wanted to be certain…_ " Kanoko continued to look around, " _The detail of this genjutsu… the smells, the sounds, the little quirks about Konoha… no Uchiha I have ever faced has been so… meticulous. It is no wonder this Uchiha was considered to be a genius among his clan._ "

"Noko-chan…"

Kanoko turned her head to the left with a curious look on her face. As her eyes settled on the tall, broad-shouldered man they narrowed in a threatening manner, "Your arrogance astounds me, Uchiha. Do you believe your skills so great that you would be able to imitate a man that I have known from birth or do you hold my own intelligence in such low regard?"

Shikaku's eyes hardened for a moment – turning an even dark shade of brown than before – before dropping his shoulders and staring down at Kanoko with a pained expression, "Why?"

Kanoko paused, her gaze locked onto the illusion before her, before scoffing loudly and turning her head away, "Enough with this farce. I will not play along in this demented doll house you have concocted."

"Kanoko!" Shikaku bellowed with a deep, commanding voice – making Kanoko flinch slightly out of sheer instinct. "This isn't some illusion! You can't pretend anymore!"

The former Hokage resisted rolling her eyes. Instead, she swiftly turned from her 'father' and started walking away from the 'village', " _I need to figure out a way to escape this ridiculous-_ "

"NARA KANOKO!" A familiar woman's voice shrieked loudly.

Kanoko looked up to see Yoshino standing just a couple yards away with her hands on her hips and a scary look on her face, "You sit your butt down right now, little missy!"

Kanoko's eyebrows shot up before slowly blinking at the woman, " _What'd I do?_ " Kanoko quickly shook her head and berated herself, " _It's a genjutsu, you idiot! Keep your mind focus on the task at hand!_ " Turning her hardened eyes away, Kanoko quickly jaunted forward passed her 'mother' without another look.

"KANOKO!"

"Noko-chan…"

Kanoko gritted her teeth and continued to push forward – her nerves starting twitch in frustration. Everything felt so real and it was slowly driving her insane. The way they spoke, the manner in which they moved... Kanoko could even smell the earthy scent Shikaku always wore from spending his free time in the Nara's forest and the soft, lavender smell Yoshino always had floating around her, no matter the circumstances.

The precious seconds Kanoko took to try to prove to herself that it was all an illusion only worked against her – tricking her mind into thinking maybe, just maybe…

Kanoko let her nails dig into her palms as she swiftly and harshly trudged through the streets of Konoha.

"Kanoko."

The Nara in questioned stilled abruptly. " _Run. Get out of here. Run, dammit, run!_ " Kanoko's mind screamed at her, but her body wouldn't move. She was paralyzed. Shifting her eyes down, Kanoko almost screamed out loud in frustration.

Struggling against the hold of her family's signature jutsu, Kanoko couldn't stop her body from turning around and facing the one person she wanted to see the least.

Dull, half lidded brown eyes met reddish-orange. Kanoko gritted her teeth in a mix of anger and apprehension.

"Kanoko." The familiar dull voice of her brother called out lightly to her again.

One foot lifted off the ground and took a single step forward. Kanoko couldn't stop her body from mimicking the move and stepping forward at the same time. Kanoko growled low before spitting out another insult, "You insufferable brat! Nothing you say or have them do will have the effect you desire and only serves to fuel my anger!"

The Shikamaru in front of her sighed heavily before dropping his shoulders with his hands in his pockets and looking up towards the sky. Dull eyes slowly drifted down towards Kanoko, boring into her.

Kanoko gritted her teeth painfully and she continued to struggle against the illusion. Looking down towards the shadow connecting the two of them, Kanoko cursed aggressively in her head, " _That insufferable, arrogant, little piece of shit of some Uchiha bastard… When I get my hands on him…_ "

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Kanoko snapped her eyes up and struggled to twist her head around, only to see her 'father' approach from behind her. His eyes were casted down and his whole posture screamed defeat and depression.

"Do… you hate us?"

Angry red eyes snapped to her right. Walking slowly towards them was her 'mother' – walking tall and confidently as always, but with a deep and painful frown on her face.

"Did we even matter to you?"

Kanoko slowly forced her eyes back to the person in front of her: Shikamaru.

Kanoko quickly averted her eyes away. Her father's pained look she could take and her mother's disappointed look only caused her chest to tighten, but the look on her brother's face…

Betrayal. His eyes were screaming the word over and over at her.

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Shikaku gritted out, his tone getting harsher with each word.

Kanoko didn't lift her eyes from the ground. She just continued to stare blankly at the pressed dirt beneath her feet.

*SLAP*

"Don't you ignore me boy!" A gruffer, deeper voice spoke from the same direction as her father.

Orange eyes widened as a mix of fear and dread started growing in the pit of her stomach. Kanoko couldn't stop herself as she slowly moved her head towards Shikaku. Her eyes widened further as Shikaku's image was replaced with another person she longed to never see again.

Standing tall with his arms crossed, eyes sharp and narrowed in disgust, and a permanent frown on his face – looking down at Kanoko with such anger and hatred – was Senju Butsuma, her father – her first father.

Kanoko could stop the flood of emotions running through her – pain, anger, fear, confusion, shock.

" _How? HOW?!_ " Kanoko repeated in her head. Wide, pinpoint reddish orange eyes swept over the man before her, " _HOW?!_ "

"Look at you…" A voice to her left spoke, raspier and quieter than the boisterous one of Yoshino, "Still a little boy, pretending to be a man. At least Hashirama never tried to fake what he was not."

" _No… it's impossible…_ " Kanoko thought, in a small semblance of hope as her rigid body turned towards the voice.

Long, choppy silver hair greeted her eyes first before orange-reddish eyes locked with deep blood red ones. Draped in a dark, royal blue cloak with white fur around the top, bottom, and ends, Senju Himiko stood tall and proud. Back straight, hands folded neatly in front of her and her chin held up high – Tobirama's mother was the physical form of proper etiquette with a chilling demeanor.

Kanoko couldn't pull her eyes away from the sight, " _What trickery is this?! How could he possibly know what she looked like, let alone…_ " Kanoko's eyes moved over the woman again. She was exactly how he remembered her – all the way down to the look in her eyes.

Kanoko quickly squeezed her eyes shut and fell to her knees – her fingers grasping at the hair on her head and pulling harshly, " _No, no, NO! She's dead. He's dead. They're both dead! Breathe Tobirama, breathe!_ "

"What have you done?" A different voice spoke above Kanoko – this one tight and almost quivering, as if he was suffering, "What have you done, Tobirama?!"

*thump thump*

Kanoko's heart stopped for a second before slowly starting to beat painfully.

"No…" Kanoko mumbled underneath her breathe.

"Tobirama! What have you done?!" The male voice called out in pain as a thick and familiar chakra flooded her senses.

"No!" Kanoko roared out as her heart started to beep rapidly and even more painfully. Her thin hand quickly grasped the material over her chest and twisted it in her hand. It felt like her chest was going to explode any second and she couldn't control her breathing. The sounds of her heavy panting reached her ears and her whole body felt like it was on fire.

"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

Red, glazed eyes snapped open and looked up at the yelling figure.

Hashirama. Her brother.

The man she always looked up to even when she thought he was being foolish. Tobirama always envied his brother heart. So pure, so true, so full of hope. Nothing ever put a dent in it, not like him, not like her. Everything took a piece of him; of her. Every nick, every scar he carried around – carefully concealed but always there.

Just a good drop away from shattering into a million pieces.

Flames raged around Kanoko, snapping her from her thoughts. Kanoko's eyes fixated on dark shadows dancing before her. Slowly her gaze moved through the area – a completely petrified look growing on her face. The sky was painted blood red as the flames grew to greater height and raced through the village. The screams of villagers burning alive echoed in her ears as the mix smell of burning flesh and wood filled her senses. Women and children ran through the streets – trying desperately to get out and away – only to be silenced as burning buildings fell into the streets – crushing anyone daring to escape. In the distance, Kanoko could make out the sounds of metal meeting metal and children crying out loudly for their parents – only for the sounds to be silenced suddenly with pitched screams.

*thump thump*

Kanoko's body shook slightly as the pain in her chest grew. She willed her body to move, to get up and put the fires out, to destroy the fools who dared attack her people, to end this continuous suffering around her, to save her home, to save her friends, to save her family.

But she was frozen.

"Everything… all of this… it's all. Your. **Fault**." Hashirama spoke again, his tone harsher than she ever remembers it being, "I **asked** you, no **begged** you to look past your own **insecurities** and give them a chance, but you chose to treat them like **animals**! I **begged** you! Why didn't you listen?! Why did you disrespect me so completely?! Not just me, but everyone in this village that made the mistake of **trusting** you?! How **could you** just let your **hatred** get in the way?!"

Kanoko opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. A thick wave of dread and fear swept through her as she realized her couldn't speak, couldn't form words. Choking on her own spit, Kanoko desperately tried to speak, but the only thing that left her throat was a series of gasps and choking sounds.

"Trust?" The familiar drawl of youngest brother drifted to her ears from behind her, "What would she even know about the word? She's never trusted a single person in her life."

Kanoko turned her head, flinching slightly as cold, dead, brown eyes stared blankly at her.

Shikamaru's expression didn't change as he spoke, "Not her _**best friend**_ …"

"GHAAAAH!" A familiar voice wailed out, causing Kanoko to snap her head around. Her heart squeezed harshly and suddenly at the flash of blond hair and orange jumpsuit being stabbed several times from behind before falling over and catching on fire.

"Not her _**teammates**_ …"

A high pitched scream ripped through the air and pierced Kanoko's chest. Her red eyes quickly shifted towards the sound – only to see a combination of pink and silver hair peek out from beneath the rubble of a fallen building.

"Not her _**comrades**_ …"

More screams, more blood, more shots through her heart – each one causing more damage than the last.

"Not her _**family**_ …"

Kanoko quickly slapped her hands over her ears and shut her eyes. She had to block it out, she **had** to. She wouldn't be able to take it, not them, not her family.

Her action proved fruitless as the deep cry of Shikaku followed by the wail of Yoshino slipped through fingers and echoed in her brain.

"And certainly not me, _**her brother, her twin, her 'so-called' everything**_ …"

His voice felt closer this time, prompting Kanoko to slowly open her eyes. Crouch in front of her with a dull and bored expression on his face, Shikamaru slowly lifted a hand towards Kanoko. The calloused and cold hand lightly brushed the side of her face.

"Perhaps I am the fool for never seeing the truth." Shikamaru spoke plainly, "There was rarely a question you didn't know the answer to – even by Nara standards. You never associated well with the rest of us – even adults you treated as if they were children. Your fighting style, your techniques, your secret and forbidden abilities – you were practically screaming out your true identity to everyone."

Shikamaru retracted his hand from his sister's cheek before nodding slowly – his bored and tired look never leaving his face – before speaking again, "Yes, I can see it clearly now. How you must have laughed at me when my back was turned. Every smirk, every bit of praise, every kind word – I thought you were communicating compassion, telling me that you cared, but I can see clearly now. Every time you smirked, you were laughing at my naivety; every time you praised me, you were mocking my abilities; every time you said something that made my heart flutter in happiness, you were playing with me – seeing just how far you could take this farce."

Shikamaru's eyes darkened as he stood up from his crouched position – looking down at Kanoko with such disdain. His eyes thinned as his mouth curled into an angry scowl, "It's time you paid for your actions. No longer will you be allowed to ruin the lives of those around you. No longer will you be able to grow hatred in this world. No longer will your miserable existence be allowed to scar this fragile world we are all subjected to live in."

Kanoko flinched visibly as thick, tanned arms wrapped around her from behind. Snapping her head to the side, Kanoko's eyes widened as she was met with the hard and cold eyes belonging to her eldest brother, Hashirama.

"You took every action possible to destroy the peace Madara and I created." Hashirama hissed at her, "But no more."

Kanoko felt a surge of dark chakra pulse in front of her, forcing her gaze back towards Shikamaru, only to hiss in pain as his hard fist connected with her jaw.

*BAM*

Another of his fists slammed into her face, making her head snap to the other side and causing blood to fly from her bleeding nose.

*BAM*

"Traitor!"

More blood spilled from her face as her lip split open from the force of the punch.

*BAM*

"Liar!"

Kanoko squeaked out a cry of pain his chakra filled fist slammed into her stomach.

*BAM*

"Murderer!"

"GHAAAH!" Kanoko screamed out as Shikamaru smashed his foot into her knee – shattering the bone.

A rough and blood stained hand reached forward and wrapped tightly around Kanoko's throat. Kanoko quickly started to struggle against Hashirama's tight hold as she gasped for air. Shikamaru leaned forward on his knees to get more leverage as he brought his other hand up and squeezed even hard on Kanoko's exposed throat.

Kanoko started bucking against her restraints – her uninjured leg thrashing around and her body twisting desperately back and forth.

"Sh-sh-shi-ka-ma-" Kanoko tried to cry out as she felt her windpipe being crushed.

Her cries fell on deaf ears and her vision started to blur – the lack of oxygen finally overtaking her will to live.

Dull red eyes slowly drifted up and back, but not before catching another pair of red eyes.

"You should have listened to my warning…" Uchiha Itachi spoke, standing tall and imposing before her, "You should have left Sasuke alone."

Kanoko's eyes slowly drifted close – the last bits of her will forcing them to stay open, if even only for a moment longer.

The swirling of black on red was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

"Goodbye Hokage-sama. I am sorry it had to come to this."

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"Gai! On your left!" Kakashi shouted while leaping in the air.

Gai quickly turned his head before grunting as he dodged another large burst of water shaped as a shark. Using the momentum, Gai swiftly spun his lower body in the air and swung his leg towards the tall, blue skinned Akatsuki member.

"Hehe…" Kisame chuckled out lowly as he placed his sword between him and the Leaf nin's kick. Dark blue spikes emerged from the bandaged blade and laid in wait for the unsuspecting ninja to make contact.

Gai's dark eyes sharpened and quickly paused in his movements – his orange leg warmers just a hair away from the dark spikes.

"Chidori!"

Kisame's wicked grin grew as Kakashi's lightning jutsu narrowed in on the Akatsuki member. "You're going to make a wonderful meal for Samehada!" Kisame bellowed out with a deep laugh as he swung the sword at Kakashi's chakra infused fist.

Just as the two were about to make contact, Kakashi's form fizzled out in a smooth cloud of smoke.

"What the-" Kisame hissed out with an irritated look.

"Asakujaku!" Gai roared, sending punch after fiery punch at Kisame's turned back.

"GHAH!" The former Mist assassin called out in pain before tightening his grip on his sword and absorbing the chakra from the blade and using it to strengthen his skin against the vicious attack.

Kakashi's Sharingan focused on the sword starting to breach from behind it's bandages, " _Have to remember to avoid that sword…_ " Kakashi shifted his eyes from Gai back to the shark-like nin before pulling out several throwing knives and aiming them right towards Kisame.

The Akatsuki quickly swung his sword around and knocked the projectiles away, but hissed out in annoyance when he noticed a shadow curve around his sword. Three throwing stars ripped into Kisame's cloak and drew blood.

Kisame leaped back and away from the pair, leaving the three of them to stand off in silence – each trying to anticipate the next attack.

Kisame clicked his teeth in annoyance, " _Itachi wasn't lying when he said these two would be… difficult._ " Kisame's eyes shifted over to Gai, " _He's fast. Really fast._ " The former Mist nin rolled his shoulder to ease some of the soreness, " _And hits hard._ " Kisame's eyes drifted over to the silver haired nin, " _Hatake Kakashi, the copycat ninja… With his Sharingan sucking all his chakra, so long as I can get a good hit in with Samehada, he'll be as good as dead!_ " Kisame grinned as he raised one hand in front of him to make a seal.

Kakashi's Sharingan eye narrowed, "Talk about a face I was hoping never to see again…"

"Hoshigaki Kisame." Gai called out with a frown, "Doesn't that mean-"

"Yeah." Kakashi replied, his eyes still narrowed on the Akatsuki member before them, " _That means Sasuke was right, or at least, the odds of Itachi being involved just raised considerably._ "

"Then it's time I repay him for last time." Gai answered while taking a stance and focusing his body's chakra.

Kakashi nodded slowly before shifting his eyes out to the horizon. The smoke over by where the Demon Desert Outpost once stood had not died down, but in fact, had grown tenfold. Kakashi's eyes hardened, " _Our coms were destroyed by Kisame's water sharks, so I don't even know what we'd be stepping into._ " Kakashi's eye met Gai's for a second before quickly focusing back on the enemy before them.

Gai nodded before smirking confidently at his longtime rival, "I can hold him off."

Kakashi's grip around his kunai tightened before asking slowly, "Are you sure Gai?"

Gai nodded again before adding with a serious voice, "Lee, Neji, Tenten… Sakura, Kanoko and Naruto, even Kurenai and Asuma's squads, they have something special. They have the gift of perseverance, and that's what makes them true geniuses!" Gai proclaimed proudly before pausing, his eyes focusing on the chuckling shinobi before them, "I have faith they will come out of this victorious and even stronger than before, but…"

Kakashi nodded with a small smile, "It's still our jobs as sensei to watch over them. To be there, **if** they need us, but to always be there regardless."

Gai grinned widely and held up a thumbs up, "Leave this to me!"

Kakashi nodded lightly before stepping back and pulling his headband down to conserve chakra.

Kisame's grin fell slightly at the copy nin's movements, "Underestimating me now?" The nin snorted, "You're mistake. Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave!"

"Get out of here Kakashi!" Gai shouted before bellowing out, "Inner Eight Gates! The Sixth Gate of Joy: Open!"

Kakashi paused but nodded one last time before speeding out of the area.

"No you don't!" Kisame shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!" A large blue and white shark shot out from behind the cloud of smoke in front of Kisame, using the crushing tidal waves from Kisame's previous jutsu to shoot towards Kakashi.

Kakashi quickly dashed to the side and spun around, already forming hand signs rapidly, but stopped suddenly when a familiar green figured appeared before him.

"Your opponent is me!" Gai shouted before screaming out a battle call and slamming his fist viciously down on the shark's head – sending it flying back to its own before proofing back to the realm in which it came.

Kakashi sent Gai a look of thanks before dashing off again – this time making it out of sight before Kisame could start on another attack.

The blue skinned nin glared at the glowing Leaf nin before showing his teeth with another wicked smile, "You're going to regret facing me on your own."

Gai's eyes narrowed as he took another stance, " _My only regret is the time we wasted here._ " Gai tried to relax his shoulders to relieve some of the tense and stress filled pressure they were under.

" _I can only hope we didn't waste too much time._ "

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 **Author's Note:**

So… …. …. My bad…

SORRY! *beats one's self* I'm not going to lie, I lost my mojo for a while there. I couldn't focus my brain, I was almost terrified to write, I barely even wrote WORK emails – that's how completely unmotivated I was. And I tried and I tried to get back into it, but after 30k worth of poorly written dialogues, fight scenes, plot twists, I just **knew** I couldn't post any of it. It wasn't good, it didn't come from a better version of me – it came from the desperate, frustrated side of my brain and you guys deserve better.

And so four months passed. And it slowly drove me insane.

But I'm back. I'm back for good! I've got my mojo back, got my shit together and let me tell you, you guys are in for a ride!

To anyone still around, I just want to say:

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! Thank you for not giving up on me or this story, thank you for not plotting my death in several different ways, and thank you for reading, reviewing, following, or favorite-ing Second Time's the Charm! I would have let this story slide a loooong time ago if it wasn't for you guys. You've pushed me to be better and write better and that has been sooo rewarding and sooo invaluable.

You guys are amazing.

.

P.S. HUUUGE shout out to my beta who hasn't kicked me to the curb yet, but may have caused my early death via some wickedness called "slow-cooker-cheesecake-recipe".


	42. Shippuden Chapter 5

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" _You're being too hard on them."_

 _One of Kanoko's closed eyes twitched. The Nara was sitting crisscross on top of one of Konoha's empty mountain sides with her hands pressed together and her eyes closed. Her intent was to mediate some of her frustrations and anxieties away before her mission – away from the people that were slowly driving her insane._

 _Kakashi apparently didn't get the memo._

" _I'll start reading Jiraiya-sama's new book out loud." Kakashi whimsical tone with a threatening smile under his mask, "I assure you, it's his best work yet!"_

 _Kanoko's frown deepened in growing irritation before letting out a breath and speaking lowly, "You do not have the perseverance. You will fold to your own insecurity of another overhearing you. I will simply need to outlast you."_

 _Kakashi paused for a second – placing his finger on his chin in thought before giving his student a joyous grin, "Then I suppose I'll just have to sing the words out loud! Takashi~ looked at Ka~go~me~ and-"_

" _ENOUGH!" Kanoko snapped in a deep voice, her eyes snapping open to glare openly at her sensei, "You will never do that again._ _ **Ever.**_ _"_

 _Kakashi stopped singing and gave Kanoko a victory smile before letting his happy expression drop slowly._

 _Kanoko's eyes narrowed before she turned her head with a scoff, "Say your piece and then leave me be. You have distracted me enough as it stands."_

 _The silver haired shinobi sighed as he slid his book into his back pocket, "It's not every day a shinobi – one obsessed with rules and regulations – blows up at the jounin commander, yelling about how unfair the system is and how the Hokage should just solve her own problems – common sense be damned."_

 _Kanoko's eyes narrowed dangerously again, "I am not the infant you portray me as."_

 _Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms and leaned back on a nearby rock, "Is that so?"_

" _It is." Kanoko grounded out before closing her eyes and posing her body to continue meditating, "I don't expect a shinobi indoctrinated by this new, supposedly selfless ideology to understand my utter disappointment."_

 _Kakashi's eyebrow rose even higher, "That's a bold statement – especially coming from the only Leaf nin who will openly dress down a fellow Leaf nin, in the middle of a busy street, if their hitai-ate is in poor shape without an acceptable reason as to why."_

 _Kanoko just huffed lowly in response and mumbled, "You put someone in their place – rightfully so –_ _ **once**_ _and no one will let it go…"_

 _Kakashi let out a slight, low chuckle before turning serious again, "Kanoko…"_

 _The Nara in question let out an annoyed murmur before turning her head slightly and shifting her eyes up towards Kakashi. Frowning deeply Kanoko let out a gruff noise before speaking in a firm tone, "Do you know why this village was formed? The ideology behind its creation?"_

 _Kakashi gave Kanoko a long stare before speaking, "You think your father – the clan head of one of wisest and long standing clans, not to mention_ _ **your**_ _father – and Tsunade-sama – the granddaughter of the First Hokage – don't?"_

 _Kanoko paused for a second before looking out towards the horizon and responding, "They have forgotten." Kanoko's eyes closed as the wind blew gentle pass her, "And for too long, I have failed to remind them." The former Hokage paused a moment further before locking her reddish-orange eyes with his one black on and speaking again, "But you did not answer my question, Kakashi-sensei."_

 _Kakashi frowned slightly before looking up towards the sky and speaking, "To end the bloodshed… so another child would never have to be killed in the name of war again."_

 _Kanoko nodded, "And yet, before me you stand – a victim of an ideology many shinobi believe is in our past." Kanoko shook her head solemnly, "And you are just one of many."_

 _Kakashi frowned, "I am not the standard, Kanoko, and you know that. We were at war with one, almost two great ninja villages. We were not afforded the luxuries-"_

" _Is that what you tell yourself when you stand at the memorial stone every morning?" Kanoko spoke in an even tone._

 _Kakashi felt his body still before forcing his muscles to relax. In a warning tone, he started, "That was uncalled for."_

 _Kanoko's frown deepened, but was respectful enough to drop further prodding. "My point..." Kanoko started, shifting away from the obvious mental wound, "…is that we continue to make_ _ **exceptions**_ _and_ _ **knee-jerk reactions**_ _to tough situations in the name of_ _ **continued prosperity**_ _. In a world where murder is not only common, but – to an extent – praised and rewarded… in a world where thievery and ending another's livelihood – their income that keeps their family safe and nourished – is just another job granted to you by your leaders… in a world where every moment is both a gift and a curse…" Kanoko sighed heavily, "We created this village with the knowledge that peace was not then achieved, but our actions taken in that moment would be just the beginning of something greater – a journey we would not see the ending to, but would instill in our children to instill in their children – so forth and so on – the strength to be_ _ **better**_ _. To never compromise their hard earned morals and ethics, but to strengthen their ties to them, so one day true peace is achieved."_

 _A quick gust kicked up – blowing leaves through the air between the two Leaf shinobi._

" _This monster of hate will not die, so long as there is a system of shinobi." Kakashi spoke solemnly, quoting his old sensei, "True peace is impossible, so long as there is hate. Do you believe the solution is a world without shinobi?" Kakashi asked Kanoko, curious where her thoughts lay on the subject._

 _Reddish-orange eyes gleamed as they reflected off the setting sun, "I don't know what true peace looks like. Perhaps it is a world without shinobi; Perhaps it is a world even my greatest imaginations can't comprehend. What I do know…" Kanoko's eyes hardened with certainty, "…Is that it's our job to never give up in our future; to never compromise in our ideals; to respect those that came before us and to protect those that will come after us – to teach them, encourage them, guide them, build them up..."_

 _Kanoko turned to look out at the horizon – to the sun reflecting softly off the tops of the village's buildings, "What I do know is that_ _ **they**_ _are the only path to true peace – a world in which everyone coexists in true harmony. That is what makes them greater than any lord, any land, and any treasure – and one we must protect with more than just our bodies. Our children will not ask what our intentions were in moments of trial and tribulations, but they will remember our actions and the words we spoke leading up to and receding those actions."_

" _They are our future. I will never give up on our future and neither should the Leaf Village." Kanoko finished as she closed her eyes to take in the gentle breeze, "Not when so many have already given everything to make it a reality."_

 _Silence filled the air as leave gently danced in the wind._

 _Kanoko flinched as she felt a hand land gently on her head. Orange eyes opened slowly to give her sensei a slightly annoyed look._

 _Kakashi smiled softly at his student as he gently ruffled her hair. Kakashi's one eye softened on Kanoko's form – disregarding her increasingly twitching eye – before he spoke – his voice barely above a whisper, "You're something, you know that?"_

 _Kanoko tilted her head slightly – partly to shake his hand off her head, which she failed at, and partly in question._

 _Kakashi chuckled quietly in response._

.

Kakashi stood tall on top of one of the desert sand peaks. From his position, he could see the outline of a fight centered around several explosions and resulting dust clouds – his students; his comrades; those he was sent to keep safe. The silver haired jounin turned his head towards the deteriorating desert tower. Silence and the eerie stillness of nothingness greeted his senses when he gazed in that direction. Either the battle raging wasn't as flashy as his students' or…

Kakashi sighed heavily before quickly making a shadow clone. The clone appeared before him in a puff of smoke before turning around and speeding off in the direction of the Demon Desert Tower.

Turning his gaze back towards the raging battle before him, Kakashi shot forward – speeding rapidly towards the scene below.

" _Naruto… Sakura… Kanoko…_ " Kakashi pushed his legs hard, pumping more chakra into them, " _Just… hold on a little longer._ "

.

* * *

.

" _ **Keep fighting Kanoko. I haven't broken my promise to you, so don't you dare break your promise to me." And with that, Naruto flared his chakra and shot towards the fight ahead – sending sand fly up at the force.**_

Naruto raced towards his comrades – dipping and weaving as burst of sand and wind ripped through the air from the multiple explosions blowing holes throughout the desert. Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance as he felt another of his clones disappear from taking a direct hit.

Blue eyes shifted towards Deidara. The Akatsuki member was on the ground with tall, sticky, amorphous clay puppets defending him on all sides – laughing loudly and maniacally. The strange, almost humanoid and animal creatures slid and flopped around before shooting straight towards Neji and Tenten.

"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"

The chakra attack shot towards the clay soldier – splitting it in half. Everyone stilled for a second as the split clay doll slowly came back to life – as two individual clay creatures.

"What the hell?! Now there's two of them!" Tenten called to her team.

Deidara grinned wickedly as he watched his creations move gracefully across the sand, "You haven't seen anything yet!" Deidara moved his hand – the long thin string of clay connecting him to his clay creations twitched, causing his clay puppets to shoot forward towards the surround Leaf nin.

"Everyone back! Don't attack it!" Neji shouted as the shapeless dolls attacked them.

"Shit!" Ino shouted as she tried to dodge one of the smaller clay puppets, " _I'm out of my depth in this fight! Why couldn't we face one of the Akatsuki freaks that required strategy and not blind dodge and smash tactics?!"_ The blonde cursed again when she realized that she wasn't fast enough to avoid it.

A flash of white paired with blond hair appeared before Ino. The clay doll hit Naruto, but didn't explode right away. Instead, the clay creature latched onto his front and expanded. Naruto cursed out loud as he desperately tried to pull the sticky creature off of him

"Hehehe!" Deidara laughed loudly as he made a different hand sign – causing the clay doll to explode.

"NARUTO!" Ino screamed as Shikamaru ran over and pulled her away.

"It's a clone, Ino." Shikamaru told his teammate calmly as the real Naruto dropped down next to them.

Ino blushed before glaring at the pair, "Well, it's not like it's easy to tell!"

Naruto chuckled nervously at the steaming blonde before turning to Shikamaru with a serious face, "What are you thinking?"

Shikamaru turned from his teammate and friend to the widely grinning Akatsuki member as he chased Sakura and Lee around the field with his clay puppets, " _That should keep him busy for a few minutes…_ _Sakura's surprisingly fast…_ " Sharp eyes turned to the white, clay substance coming out of the Akatsuki member's hands, " _Those mouths on his hands… He uses them to make his explosive dolls._ " Shikamaru frowned, " _It can't possibly be that simple…_ "

Dark brown eyes shifted towards Naruto – who had created twenty clones and dived towards the former Stone nin.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted – having planned their next series of moves.

The blond sent a burst of wind chakra out towards Deidara – just barely missing him as the Akatsuki member dodged it – before turning his head towards Shikamaru, "It's about time!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes before taking a stance and quickly forming hand signs, "Ino! Chouji! I need-"

"Yeah, yeah!" Ino called out as she stood behind Shikamaru and placed a hand on the back of his head, "Ninja Art: Mind Transmission Jutsu!"

"Ninja Art: Human Bolder!" Chouji shouted as he curled up – forming his body into a large spinning ball – and speeding towards the Akatsuki member.

Deidara turned his head to see the Akimichi zooming straight for him and smirked, "The fatso part of the weakling-ugly-fatso trio…" Deidara pulled his growing army of clay puppets away from Sakura and Lee to land between him and the closing in human bolder.

"UGLY?!"

"FAT?!"

"Troublesome…"

Deidara's wide grin grew as forced his clay creatures to combine – forming a large sticky net as Chouji's form was just a few feet away.

"CHA!"

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Sakura and Lee shouted out in unison as they leaped into the air – aiming a chakra infused taijutsu attacks at Deidara's back.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you!" Deidara laughed out as large clay caterpillars erupted from the sand and launched towards Lee and Sakura.

"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" Neji shouted as he spun his body around in-between his comrades and the clay bombs. The Hyuuga's chakra hit causing the bombs to explode and sending the three of them flying back.

Deidara clicked his teeth in annoyance at the Hyuuga's quick moves when suddenly, a long thick chain wrapped around him. Deidara hissed out as the chains tightened around his abdomen before roughly pulling him back.

"Ha!" Tenten shouted in victory as she and four Naruto clones pulled the restrained Deidara into the air.

"Now, Chouji!" Shikamaru shouted.

The spinning ball that was Chouji turned sharply before bouncing in the air towards Deidara's chained form, "Ninja Art: Flying Human Boulder!"

Deidara's lips twisted up into a wicked smile, "You brats just don't learn! Do you?!" Wiggling his hands around the chains, he pulled his clay creatures attached to him towards the Akimichi. The multiple clay creatures smacked into Chouji's spinning form and started encasing his body as if they were a large piece of expanding gum.

Deidara spun his body around and sent a chakra infused foot into the chains – loosening their hold on him – before making a hand seal. Deidara laughed loudly as he yelled, "Bye bye, fatso!"

The Leaf nin stared wide eyed as the clay glop around their comrade exploded loudly in the air – the force of the explosion sending a couple of them back.

"CHOUJI!" Shikamaru screamed out with wide and panicked eyes.

Deidara dropped to the ground with a slight hunch in his shoulders before starting to chuckle. Looking back up at the group with a wicked grin, Deidara stuck one of his hands into his clay pouch – preparing for another attack. His blue eyes gazed around at the utterly shocked Leaf nin and couldn't help his grin grow, " _The look on their faces… what they are witnessing now is the only true art in this world – and they know it!_ " Deidara's grin turned into a satisfied smile, " _It's almost a shame to have to kill them, but true art isn't something that can be contained, and I can't help it if they make perfect accents to my masterpieces!_ "

Deidara laughed out loudly as he pulled a small clay doll out with its 'hands' folded over each other, "I wouldn't bother mourning your friend! He was able to experience something too few get to: Witnessing and becoming a piece of true art! For true art is an ex-"

Deidara's monologue was cut suddenly a spike of chakra forced him to snap his head around. Blue eyes widened as a large human bolder smack him in the back and proceeding to run over him – sending his clay doll flying out of his hands. " _SHIT!_ " Deidara thought as he saw his doll fly through the air.

A long black tendril whipped through the air and caught the flying clay doll in a gentle catch – as if it was a raw egg – before spinning it around and sending it flying back towards the squashed Deidara.

Deidara's eyes snapped from the clay doll to the large Akimichi quickly retreating, " _How the hell – ?!_ " Deidara pushed chakra into his hands as he shoved them into the sand below – trying to escape from his incoming bomb when he was once again rammed into the back and pinned down, " _THE FUCK?!_ "

"Hehehe!" Several Naruto clones chuckled evilly as they glomped onto the blond Akatsuki member, "For a _**scary**_ Akatsuki member, you're sure easy to trick!" Naruto laughed, "You totally didn't catch the fact that one of us clones henged into Chouji earlier or when we were hiding behind the real Chouji just now!"

Deidara growled loudly before screaming at the Naruto clones, "GET THE FUCK OFF!" Deidara spat out two small bomb and forcing them to explode immediately – popping the clones while causing himself some resulting burns before quickly escaping the area just before the clay bomb landed.

Shikamaru cursed under his breath as he held an arm up in front of his face to protect himself from the blast, " _So he'll resort to causing himself bodily harm without even flinching…_ " Shikamaru clicked his tongue against his teeth in irritation as his sharp brown eyes followed the enemy blond as he retreated, " _That effectively removes several ideas I had with shadow clones. This is turning into a distance fight – something that is proving to be a greater strength for him than us…_ "

Deidara planted his feet into the sand – skidding across it slightly as he spun around to glare hard at the Leaf nin. Deidara's eyes moved across the area – eying each of them individually, " _It seems I'll actually have to take this fight seriously._ " Deidara's eyes moved across the group again as he started kneading clay in his hands, " _The Hyuuga's doujutsu limits me to unexpected trick moves to catch him off guard._ " Deidara's gazed stopped on Chouji, Ino, Sakura, Lee, and Tenten, " _Besides being irritating distractions, they're nothing to worry about. Rather…_ " The Akatsuki's eyes snapped to Shikamaru and Naruto, " _The Jinchuriki is stronger than the reports lead us to believe; and I thought the_ _ **female**_ _Nara was supposed to be the problem, not the male one._ " Deidara clicked his teeth before grinning, "It doesn't really matter. I I've already done my job and have a lot of clay left to play with. And it's not everyday I get to show off so much of my art!"

Deidara opened his hands to gaze down at his masterpiece, "And art…"

The blond activated his clay doll causing a large puff of smoke to detonate around him.

"True art… is an EXPLOSION!"

The smoke cleared in an instant as large, white wings beat back and forth before ascending into the sky.

"Oh my god…" Tenten mumbled out loudly, her arms limp at her sides while she stared, shocked, at the massive creature above. Lee, Neji and Sakura also skidded to a halt to stare blankly up at the sky – their Naruto clones trailing behind them.

Flying proudly before them was a large white dragon – made with some kind of white clay, fully solid, and thrashing its wings back and forth through the air as if it was alive. The sheer size of the dragon made the Leaf nin look like insects in comparison.

Deidara's loud and dominant laugh echoed through the air as the smoke cleared. The blond waved open his arms with a triumphant grin on his face on the back of his new creation, "Behold: The C2 Dragon!"

Neji's Byakugan widened considerably as it took in the dragon's form, "The entire thing is nothing but dense chakra…"

Sakura's head snapped towards Neji with wide eyes, "You're saying it's a bomb."

Neji nodded slowly with a tight frown, "Probably."

"Well shit." One of the Naruto clones drawled out before eying one of the other clones, "It was nice knowing you, pal."

The other Naruto clone nodded solemnly, "It's been a good twenty minutes man. Better than most of us get."

"Mmmhm." Another sounded off while nodding.

Ino twisted her head around at the clones' conversation with raised eyebrows, " _Note to self: Spend a couple days observing Naruto and his clones. The results could prove fruitful in aiding shinobi who develop multiple personalities…_ "

"Ino! Shikamaru! Look out!" Neji shouted towards the pair as Sakura rushed forward at an incredible speed.

A bird shape missile shot out from within the C2 dragon's mouth and ripped through the air towards Ino and Shikamaru.

Sakura pulled out a large ball of explosive tags and quickly tied it to a kunai before sending both of them flying towards the large bird-missile.

The two large explosives hit, sending a shockwave of heat and air out towards the field below.

Ino jumped back and next to Sakura – panting slightly at the rush of adrenaline. Locking eyes with her green eyed friend, Ino nodded, "Thanks Sakura."

Sakura returned her nod with a smile before turning back towards the Akatsuki member, "This creep picked the wrong person to get in an explosives match with."

"Keep in mind…" Shikamaru started before getting cut off.

"Shikamaru! Ino!" Chouji called out in joy as he landed next to the three of them, "Are the two of you ok?!" Chouji gave the two a quick look over before smiling widely at his friend, "See Shikamaru? Women aren't that troublesome! They keep you from dying!"

Shikamaru gave Chouji a tired, yet cocky smirk before drawling out, "Doesn't make them any less troublesome." Shikamaru gestured haphazardly towards the dual glaring women, "Case and point." Neither women had a chance to retort as Shikamaru's eyes caught Deidara aiming another attack after them – after failing to hit Neji's group - and cut them off with a yell, "Move!"

The group dispersed just in time to avoid another bomb-missile.

"He's using earth signs in his attacks!" Shikamaru shouted out – trying to get out what he noticed before to Sakura – "You're normal explosives aren't going to be as strong as you think they are against his, but – !" Shikamaru cursed as leaped out of the way to avoid another rapid moving missile.

"You think lightning style jutsus would help." Neji stated in a calm voice as he appeared behind the slightly disheveled brunet – after being forced to dive into the sand to escape that last hit.

Shikamaru nodded as he grumbled out, "The only problem…"

"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted as he smashed his chakra ball into another of bird shaped bomb. The bird exploded in the air, just as Naruto used one of his shadow clones to fling himself away.

The blond landed next to Shikamaru and Neji, "…Is that no one here uses lightning jutsu." Naruto finished for Shikamaru before pausing to tilt his head and add, "Well, no one that's all that good at it."

The Nara gave Naruto an annoyed look before nodding and taking off at a high speed – away from Deidara's likely next target area. Turning his head, Shikamaru noted Neji and Naruto were running with him and continued his earlier thoughts, "No doubt my sister has equipped Sakura with all kinds of explosives, but the problem is getting her in range. This guy's not only quick on the draw, but he's got the advantage of aerial tactics. Even if that dragon of his isn't that quick to dodge, he could always create another bird to escape on – just like the beginning of this battle."

Shikamaru stopped himself as he eyed Sakura and Lee running circles around Deidara's C2 Dragon – making it impossible for the creature to aim at them and frustrating Deidara to no end. One of Shikamaru's eyebrows rose up, "Ok… When did Sakura get so fast? How is she even keeping up with Lee?"

Naruto twisted his head around – his jaw going slack as he realized that Shikamaru wasn't pulling his leg. They really were spinning around the Akatsuki member so fast – it was almost impossible to tell it was the two of them.

Neji answered in an impassive tone, "Kanoko's had Sakura training with Lee and Gai every second she's not with the Hokage or with Shizune-san." Neji paused for a moment before continuing, "Actually, I recall Kanoko getting into several… disagreements with the Lady Hokage over Sakura's training. The Hokage wanted Sakura to focus on her chakra techniques, but Kanoko heavily disagreed – stating speed was Sakura's true weakness and she refused to allow Sakura on any missions until she was much faster."

Shikamaru groaned loudly and heavily as they skidded to a halt – the focus of Deidara's rage becoming the elusive pair of green and pink, " _ **Refused**_ to let Sakura go on missions?!" Shikamaru groaned again, "The Hokage's going to make my life miserable, isn't she? Kanoko is the _**queen**_ of troublesome..."

Naruto pulled at his hair and gave Shikamaru a pained look, "You're life?! More like **our** lives! The old hag barely likes me as it is!" Naruto whined loudly as Neji chuckled at the pair.

"It wasn't easy for Sakura." Neji continued with a smirk on his face at the pair, "But once she figured out how to use her chakra control to help her keep up with Lee and Gai – when they weren't in green beast mode that is – Lee and Sakura started forming complementary techniques around full frontal attack tactics."

Shikamaru perked up at this, "Complementary techniques?"

Neji nodded and turned his Byakugan back towards the fight ahead, "Just watch."

* * *

.

Sakura bit her bottom lip and she and Lee continued to run circles and figure eights around the large clay dragon. Her emerald eyes analyzed the creature carefully as she ran, " _Shikamaru said something about Deidara using earth hand signs… Earth jutsu then?_ " Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly as she felt the heat from another missile graze her back, " _His getting closer at hitting us… I need to come up with something…_ "

The pinkette's eyes shifted up towards Deidara's form – where he was holding his hands together in an earth hand sign. His eyes shifted rapidly over the area with a crazed smile on his face. Sakura almost sighed out loud, " _How come I always get stuck with the crazies?_ " Just as that thought finished, a light bulb went off in Sakura's head.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _No." Kanoko told Sakura firmly with her arms crossed and an almost angry frown on her face._

 _Sakura pouted, giving Kanoko the big, green eyed puppy dog look, "But Ka~no~ko!"_

" _No 'buts'." Kanoko said firmly, but quickly closed her eyes._

 _Inner Sakura smirked and mumbled in her head, "Almost…"_

" _Ok…" Sakura said with a light sigh._

 _Kanoko's frown deepened, but didn't open her eyes – knowing what will likely be waiting for her, "I'm not going to change my mind, Sakura."_

 _Sakura made a childlike noise of protest, "I told you ok! I'm not a spoiled little girl! I know when to quit..."_

 _Kanoko felt a headache come on – having an odd feeling of déjà vu. Sighing lightly, Kanoko opened her eyes and immediately regretted the action._

" _Pweeeeeease?!" Sakura whined out, her eyes huge and tearing up with her hands clasped tightly in front of her in a begging manner._

 _Kanoko groaned lowly and uncrossed her arms before giving Sakura a tired look, "Neji never hears about this, am I clear?" Kanoko turned her head and mumbled under her breath, "He gives me enough crap as it is."_

 _Sakura cheered loudly as she fist pumped the air, "Yes!"_

 _ **End Flashback**_

Sakura turned her head to where Neji was standing with Shikamaru and Naruto, " _Sorry Kanoko! I wouldn't do it if I thought I had any other options!_ " The pinkette turned her head to where Lee was racing around, "Lee! We're going to do it!"

Lee snapped his head towards Sakura as he passed her swiftly and yelled back, "Do what Sakura-chan?"

Sakura smirked as she ripped off the thick sash around her waist - revealing several etched seals on the inside, "The thing!" Sakura quickly activated the seals before strapping it back around her stomach, " _I sure hope this works… or this is going to really hurt._ "

Lee's eyes paused in blinking for a moment before his mind finally supplied what she was implying. The green nin looked at Sakura a little unsure, "But Sakura-chan, we haven't tested it out completely yet. Gai-sensei and Kanoko-san were very specific in that-"

Lee was cut off when Sakura yelled back, "We're doing it Lee!" The pinkette's green eyes blazed with fire as she raised her fist in a threatening manner.

Lee squeaked out a quick, "Yes mam!", and zipped open his chunin jacket to pull out two long scrolls. Lee brought one scroll up to his mouth to start unraveling it, " _I am sorry Gai-sensei, but I believe my cherry blossom is correct._ " Lee's eyes turned towards his teammates – specifically Neji. _**Keep everyone back**_ – Lee hand signed to his teammate. The Leaf nin didn't keep eye contact to see the Hyuuga reply, as he forced on Sakura's form – knowing he had to prepare himself for what was happening next.

Sakura nodded back at Lee before frowning slightly as she started looking up for the best opening, " _Where would be…_ " Sakura's eyes stilled on Deidara's bangs – specifically the odd thing over the eye hiding behind his bangs, " _There no telling what that thing does… Maybe it helps him see chakra?_ " Sakura shook her head and sighed, "It's still the best option… here goes nothing!"

Sakura twisted her body around – her feet spinning in the sand – and she turned in the direction Lee was. From several yards away, Sakura caught the Leaf nin nod – the scrolls that were once in his hands were laying out, but with a layer of sand overtop to keep them hidden.

Sakura took a deep breath before using all her chakra control and focusing on her legs and feet. Taking a running pose, Sakura pushed herself off of the ground with a burst of chakra – an explosion detonating behind her from another of Deidara's failed attempts at hitting them. Bursting forward at an incredible pace, Sakura shot straight towards Lee.

Lee forced his body to relax – closing his eyes and clearing his mind of everything. The green clad nin took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. A burst of chakra erupted from him as he whispered, "Third Gate of Life: Open! Fourth Gate of Pain: Open!"

"ChaaAAAAAAAA!" Sakura roared out as sand flew up behind her.

Lee's eyes snapped open – his face a dark reddish color from opening up the third and fourth gates – and took an attack stance.

Once Sakura was a couple yards away from Lee, she pushed all her chakra into her feet and leaping into the air.

Lee's dark eyes locked onto Sakura's form as she shot down towards him. Letting out one last, quiet breath the Green Beast of Konoha shot forward, "Fifth Gate of Closing: Open!" Lee's twisted his body in mind air and swung his leg out, "Forgive me Sakura-chan!"

Sakura let out a nervous breath as she moved all her chakra from her limbs into her stomach. Sakura's eyes slammed shut as she started chanting, " _Please let this work, please let this work!_ "

Lee's foot slammed into Sakura's stomach – right where her sash was – launching her far into the sky and speeding pass Deidara and his dragon as fast as lightning.

"What the fuck?!" Deidara called out as he saw a blur of pink and red pass by him. The blond's head snapped up, but saw nothing but a black, starry sky, "What the… where the hell did that thing go?! What even was that?!"

Deidara's questions were cut off as his C2 Dragon shook, "Ack!" The blond called out as he tried to check his balance, "What are you going to my art?!" Deidara looked down before quickly pulling his dragon back – just barely missing another large, explosive projectile. Bomb after bomb hit the underside of the clay dragon as more projectiles erupted from the sand below. It was like fireworks going off – just one after another into the sky.

"Damn brats!" Deidara roared out as he moved his dragon farther up into the air and away from the continuous attacks, "You have no appreciation for TRUE ART!"

"Yosh!" Lee called out as a battle call as he flipped and used his hands to propel him into the air.

"Shit!" Deidara called out as Lee appeared in front of him. Quickly spitting out some clay, Deidara made a small 'Deidara-doll' and aimed to spit it towards Lee. Lee quickly smacked his leg into the head of the dragon- making the whole thing lurch forward and causing Deidara to shot his small doll bomb in the wrong direction - missing Lee completely.

Lee fell back towards the ground as Deidara cursed at the Leaf nin loudly, "Fucking little brat!" Deidara shoved his hands in the bags of dry clay on his sides. The mouths on his hands quickly ate up several loads of clay before Deidara yanked them out, "Take this!" Deidara threw several hundred small spider shaped bombs in the same direction Lee was falling.

Lee spun around and eyed the small bombs before twisting his body in the air and landing on his hands. Quickly, Lee pushed off the sand with his fingertips and sped away from the exploding spiders as they glided through the air to hit it. The green clad shinobi sped through the sand before turning his head up towards Deidara and his dragon, " _Just a little longer…_ "

Deidara growled in annoyance as the Gai look-a-like kept weaving through all his spider bombs, " _The brat doesn't even have anything special like a Sharingan or a Byakugan!_ " Deidara's teeth gritted together before he forced himself to calm down and turn his attention from the taijutsu for a second to look out at the group of Leaf nin standing quite a few yards away, " _What are they planning?_ " Deidara decided he didn't like how they were just standing there and started to move his dragon forwards towards them.

The C2 Dragon's wings beat heavily in the air as he started to move forward.

Deidara grinned wickedly as started chewing on a large chunk of clay in his mouth, " _I was saving this one for another Leaf nin – well former Leaf nin – but this will take them all out quickly and a beautiful display of artistic genius!_ " Deidara's eyes shifted out towards the horizon, " _Maybe if I make it big enough it'll hit that bastard too… Or his brother…_ " Deidara's grin grew even more crazed, " _Watching his little brother disintegrate before his eyes – those stupid Sharingan eyes that remember everything – it would be my greatest masterpiece – !_ "

* **BOOOOM** *

Deidara cried out in surprise as his C2 Dragon tilted to the left, "The fuck-?!" Deidara's eyes widened as he saw a chunk of his dragon's wing missing with smoke pooling around it.

* **BOOOOM** *

Deidara grabbed onto the dragon as another explosion hit his clay dragon – this time on the other side. Deidara screamed out several curse words as he looked down – expecting the attack to come from there.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOOOM*

More explosions hit – each taking out pieces of his dragon - when a thought hit Deidara, making his head snap up and his eyes widening at the sight.

Falling through the sky with tens of open scrolls trailing behind her was Sakura. Her short pink hair whipped behind her and she threw bomb after bomb after bomb – each one bigger than the last.

Deidara screamed out in frustration as his dragon started falling to the ground, "Fucking bitch!" Deidara gripped his dragon tightly and spun his large clay dragon around in the air – so that its back as facing the ground – before roaring out, "As I said, my art isn't so ONE DIMENSIONAL!" The end of the dragon's tail collapsed within itself and moved up through its body. The clay formed inside the dragon's mouth – making the whole head expand at the huge amount of forming clay.

Deidara crackled loudly with a large grin on his face, "Try to avoid this – "

Deidara was cut off as Sakura detonated a bomb behind her – shooting her forward at an incredible rate towards Deidara and his dragon.

"CHAAAAAAAAAA!" Sakura roared as activated the second series of seals on her sash – coating her body in a protective chakra – before Sakura's chakra infused fist slammed into the C2 Dragon's bomb filled mouth.

Deidara's eyes went wide as the clay inside his dragon's mouth start to glow, " _SHIT!_ " The blond slammed his hands into the back of his dragon – knowing that it was going to blow into an explosion even he wouldn't be able to come out of – when he felt a sharp pain impact him in the back over and over again – sending a shockwave of pure agony up through his spine.

"Sixth Gate of Wonder: Open! MORNING CHICKEN!" Lee shouted as he sent punch after fiery punch into Deidara's back - pinning the Akatsuki member to his C2 Dragon.

The Green Beast of Konoha only got out a fraction of the punches he was capable of giving when a pink blur smacked into him – sending them both flying to the ground at an incredible speed.

Sakura wrapped her arms tightly around Lee as she shut her eyes harshly. It wasn't until she hit the clay creature with her fist that she felt how much chakra was being stored in that thing. It was absolutely astronomical and in that very moment, Sakura quickly shift gears. Beating Deidara was the least of her concerns in that moment. There was no way they would survive this. Not something this big, this concentrated, this huge.

And this was her stupid idea.

And even if it wasn't, she wasn't going to lose Lee.

Even if that meant…

"Sakura-chan – ?" Lee yelled out confused, but was cut off when he felt a familiar, warm feeling of Sakura's healing chakra flood into his system.

His eyes went wide.

Lee used his enhanced strength from his open gates to spin them around – his back facing the blast instead of hers, "It is my duty, my nindo, to never break a promise I have made. I made you a promise Sakura-chan. I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself for me when the burden is mine to bare!"

"Lee! NO! This is my fault!" Sakura screamed, snapping her eyes open in pure panic, "I-"

.

.

The dark night stilled in silence for a moment before light filled the desert as far as the eye could see.

 ***BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM***

Molten hot wind ripped through the desert as the blast from the explosion bore through the large expanse of sand – creating a crater in the land.

.

.

.

A long, painful scream ripped through the air before being muffled by the deafening sound of the explosion.

.

.

.

.

.

The thick, smoke filled air stilled.

A groan cut through the thick night air, followed by a fit of coughing due to the thick layer of darkened smoke. Slowly the coughing died down and emerald eyes slowly opened up – trying to clear her blurry vision. Sakura almost vomited as a pain shot through her head and a loud ringing rang in her ears.

Sakura groaned again as her ears continued to ring loudly – preventing her from hearing anything at all.

Then suddenly, her brain started yelling at her.

"Lee! Lee! LEE!" Sakura screamed – having no idea if anything was coming out. Her eyes started to focus as the smoke cleared.

The image of a green blur lying flat on its stomach in front of her nearly stopped Sakura's heart.

"LEE!" Sakura fumbled in the sand – her limbs slipping and making her fall as she moved closer – before shooting chakra out to her hands and making them glow green. "NO LEE! COME ON LEE!" Sakura wailed out quietly as she flipped elder shinobi over and started applying first aid.

The tears had already started rolling down her face when Sakura stopped to blink.

There wasn't a single singe mark on him.

"What the…" Sakura mumbled before she realized something blond and white was next to her – yelling at her.

Sakura's vision cleared further and she realized that kneeling next to her was her teammate, Naruto.

"Naruto?!" Sakura called again before angrily slapping herself. Pushing out chakra, Sakura held her hands to her ears and quickly healed the damaged ear drums.

"-kura!" Naruto yelled at Sakura.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled back, "How are we…?" Sakura looked from Lee to herself and changed her question slightly, "What happened?!"

Naruto let out a breath of relief before smiling widely at his teammate. Sakura let out a long breath of air – knowing that look on her teammate's face, knowing that they were safe – before feeling tears fall freely down her face in pure relief.

Lee turned his head, catching the flash of pink and stared shocked at Sakura before grinning widely and giving her a thumbs up. Even though he couldn't hear, his vision was clear enough to see the pair and knew everything was going to be alright.

Sakura smiled gently back at the green clad shinobi before turning back to Naruto, "What happened?" She asked, this time in a much calmer voice.

Shikamaru appeared from behind the thick smoke with a large frown on his face, "After Lee shot you into the sky, Neji just about had a heart attack – "

"He's not kidding!" Naruto cut off Shikamaru with a serious face, "The whole hyperventilating and grabbing his heart like he had just been stabbed thing! I thought he was dying on us!"

"And here we are without either of our two medics." Ino added in with a smirk as she crossed her arms.

Lee looked up at Ino's smirk confused – being unable to hear anything. Sakura caught his look and scooted her body over to heal his ears at the very least.

"Continuing on…" Shikamaru cut in with a drawl, "Tenten let us know that the two of you were attempting an attack that Gai-sensei and my sister had specifically warned you off of until you were both jounin…"

Tenten appeared in front of Lee just before grabbing him by the front of his shirt and yanking him back and forth, "WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING?!" Tenten turned her angry gaze towards Sakura, making her jump, before hissing out, "You don't get to leave me with them, YOU HEAR ME?! I finally got a female teammate and I REFUSE TO LET YOU GO!"

Sakura sweat-dropped as she gave Tenten a nervous laugh before nodding slowly. Behind Tenten, Ino giggled in amusement at her two friends.

Naruto frowned at Tenten and Lee, "Hey! Sakura-chan's Team Kakashi! Not Team Bushier Brow!" Naruto finished his comment by sticking his tongue out in a childish manner at them.

Shikamaru groaned loudly, "Can I finish so we can continue our mission? You know, the one that two ninja villages are counting on?" When his comments fell on deaf ears, he sighed heavily and mumbled, "Troublesome…"

Chouji grinned as he placed a gentle hand on his longtime friend's shoulder, making the shadow nin smile reluctantly back.

Neji scoffed as he crossed his arms, "Shikamaru is right. We have a mission to complete." Neji's gazed moved from the group over to where Shikamaru's barrier seal was protecting Kanoko, "And whether or not Sasuke's group was succeeding in finding the source of Kanoko's genjutsu, she is still unable to complete the mission in her current state. The parameters of the mission dictate that we rendezvous with the Kazekage's team."

Lee looked over at his teammate and blinked, "But Neji, how did you protect us from the blast?" Lee turned his head towards the large mushroom cloud floating into the night sky. The explosion sight looked incredibly far away – farther than even he could run in such a short amount of time.

Sakura caught Naruto's smirk before turning to Shikamaru with a curious look.

Shikamaru sighed as he mumbled, "So now you'll listen… troublesome…"

Ino stomped her foot and gave Shikamaru a narrowed eyed look causing the shadow nin to sigh again and answer, "Isn't it obvious? Naruto had two of his clones use substitution jutsu. Once Neji and Tenten informed us of your plan, we gathered to a safe distance and had Naruto handle the rest."

Naruto grinned widely and shouted, "Uzumaki Naruto: The finisher! Believe it!"

Ino looked up with a thoughtful look as she tapped her finger on her chin, "Technically, Lee was the finisher. You're more like… the backup plan?"

Sakura giggled at Naruto's angst look and as he mumbled, "That's the last time I agree to hang back…"

Shikamaru shook his head with a slight grin, "That wasn't a battle to laugh at. Had that Akatsuki member taken us more seriously, we wouldn't be sitting here arguing over who did the most damage. We each played a part that assured our safety and our comrades' safety. Never take that for granted." Shikamaru frowned as his half lidded eyes turned towards the direction of his sister, "Not all of us are celebrating right now and we still have two to three more battle ahead of us."

The group nodded solemnly – the seriousness of the situation coming back to the forefront of their minds.

Sakura pushed herself up from the sand and dusting herself off, "Shikamaru's right. Kanoko's down, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba and Shizune are out facing who knows what, and our senseis – "

" **HOW DARE YOU?!** "

Everyone flinched at the screech of a familiar voice before snapping their heads around.

"No… no way…" Sakura spoke with wide, shocked eyes.

Growing before them was a large bundle of shifting clay – continuously expanding in size until it towered over them. The dark ball of clay stopped growing in height to start shaping into a form – a form they had just seen be blown to pieces.

Deidara of the Akatsuki.

"MOVE!" Shikamaru told them in a panicked tone, "DON'T THINK, JUST MOVE!"

Everyone was snapped from their thoughts at Shikamaru's order and quickly twisted around before snapping forward in a neck breaking pace. Team Gai and Sakura were quick to take lead of the group – Neji with his Byakugan active to monitor the situation. Naruto was just a step behind them with Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino just behind him – one last Naruto clone at the back, just in case. The shadow nin turned to look at the giant Deidara slowly stepping towards them – eying the burned and laughing Deidara floating just behind it on one of his many clay birds – when Shikamaru cursed in panic.

Kanoko.

" **I CREATED THIS MOVE ESPECIALLY TO KILL UCHIHA ITACHI - YOU WEAKLINGS DON'T STAND A CHANCE!** "

Shikamaru had come a long way in fuinjutsu thanks to Jiraiya, but he would be the first to admit that he wasn't even in the same league as his sister or the Toad Sage himself, yet. That barrier shield he placed around her could take a lot of damage, but there was no telling the kind of damage this bomb would do.

The bomb copy of Deidara was absolutely and utterly **massive**.

"BOSS!"

Naruto turned his head around when his clone called out to him. Blue eyes went wide when he saw Shikamaru break formation and run perpendicular of the Deidara-bomb's path.

"Shikamaru!" Ino and Chouji called out as Naruto diverted from the group as well to catch up to the fleeing Nara.

Sakura turned at the noise and saw Naruto and Shikamaru running in the line of fire, "What are they doing?!"

Ino turned to Sakura – none of them decreasing their speed or changing their path – "I don't know! Should we follow them?"

"No!" Neji shouted as his eyes turned from the group to Naruto and Shikamaru, "Their going back for Kanoko. We're just going to have to trust they know what they're doing!"

Everyone turned to Neji with looks of concern and hesitation before continuing on their path away from the walking bomb.

.

* * *

"JUST TRY AND RUN! IT WON'T SAVE YOU FROM THIS!" Deidara shouted from high in the sky. The blond stopped in his maniacal rant to hiss in pain as the burns on his body sizzled agony, " _Two lowly chunin from a pathetic village like the Leaf think they can best_ _ **my art**_ _?!_ "

"NOTHING WILL SAVE YOU FROM MY C4: **GARUDA**!" Deidara shouted before his eyes caught two of the Leaf nin running in a different direction from the others. His blue eyes narrowed before it dawned on him. Deidara smirked, " _They're going back for that Nara girl_ _ **.**_ **"** Deidara shifted his eyes back and forth between the groups, " _If I time it just right… I can hit both groups and the girl._ " Deidara's wicked smirk grew into a wide smile, " _Come on little Nara, take down that barrier seal…_ "

.

* * *

.

Naruto quickly caught up to the shadow nin – his lungs pulsing slightly in pain at pushing himself to go faster – before yelling at him, "What the hell Shikamaru?!"

Shikamaru panted heavily as he pushed his legs to move faster, "Kanoko!" He told Naruto – unable to say anymore as his breath rapidly left him.

A light bulb went off in Naruto's head as his eyes turned to the outline of Shikamaru's barrier seal. The blond quickly turned his head back to the large moving bomb. Naruto gritted his teeth, " _Need a plan, need a plan, come one Naruto, think!_ "

"A reverse summons!" Naruto shouted to Shikamaru, making the Nara give Naruto a crazy look.

"Can you do that with two extra people?!" Shikamaru responded before turning back towards the others, "We'll have no way of getting back! That's not an option!"

Naruto looked at Shikamaru with a bewildered look, "And getting blown up is?! Because that's what's gonna happen!"

Shikamaru sent Naruto an annoyed look, "We'll have a chance if we keep running perpendicular!"

"That's a stupid idea!" Naruto shouted back, "Aren't you supposed to be from a clan of smart people?! We're not fast enough to get outside the blast range if we continue on this path!"

Shikamaru smirked at his friend, "Aren't you the one always saying nothing's impossible for the great Uzumaki Naruto – especially not…" Shikamaru stopped to catch his breath, "…not where his friends are concerned?"

Naruto whined loudly, "I liked it better when no one thought I could do anything! It was less pressure and more fun when I got to rub my awesomeness in people's faces!" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Shikamaru, "You are the ultimate fun sucker! You know that?!"

Shikamaru smirked before skidding to a halt and falling to his knees. Rapidly, he ran through hand signs and nicked his thumb – applying blood to the seal and calling its wall down. As soon as the seal deactivated, Shikamaru picked up his sister's limp form.

"Shika– "

Shikamaru snapped his head up at Naruto pitched voice – his eyes going wide as the large, Deidara copy started expanding like an over-inflated balloon.

Shikamaru's grip on his sister tightened before passing her off to Naruto, "I'm going to try **it** Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted as he started rapidly making hand signs, "If I can't hold it, you reverse summon yourself and Kanoko out of here!"

Naruto looked at Shikamaru with wide eyes, "No! I'm not – "

"There's not time to argue Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted as he slammed his hand on the ground – markings akin to typical fuinjutsu seals spreading out before them, "Shadow Void!"

Black pooled out from Shikamaru's body until it was big enough to fit the three of them before curving up and encasing them in a thin, sphere-like ball of yin chakra.

Naruto shivered slightly as the black sphere cut off everything from the outside. The small space was completely void of sound, of wind, of everything. Naruto could swear it was even pulling the feeling of life out of him. He's only experience Shikamaru do this once, and it was just as terrifying then as it was now.

And Shikamaru had only held it for a minute – max – last time!

Even worse…

There was no way to tell what was going on outside.

.

He could only hope that his clone popped after the bomb went off – so it could relay its memories to him – and not before.

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* * *

.

Neji's eyes widened as a black sphere formed around Naruto, Kanoko and Shikamaru before they completely disappeared from his Byakugan's vision. It was like they were wiped from existence – or that they were never there to begin with.

Completely invisible to even his enhanced gaze.

The Hyuuga didn't have time to think about it as the large clay copy of Deidara finally exploded.

Ino was the first to speak up with wide eyes, "No explosion?!"

Sakura turned to Neji for an explanation, "All that and the thing just pops like an over inflated balloon?"

Neji's gaze narrowed on the scene beyond them as everyone went silent. Neji's eyes focused in on Deidara's laughing form and narrowed further, " _Either he thinks this is the best prank ever or…_ "

Neji's heart skipped a beat as his eyes caught an invisible – to the normal eye – cloud of chakra blowing their way at a rapid rate – the savage winds of the desert aiding its path towards them. Neji quickly shifted his eyes around for a way to escape it as he shouted, "I don't know that it is but there's a large cloud of chakra heading straight for us from that bomb!"

Tenten turned to Sakura, "Cloud of chakra?"

Sakura shook her head, "That doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard of…"

"Oh… my… god…" Ino spoke with a slack jaw before pointing up towards the crows flying past.

Everyone looked up to where Ino pointed before a rush of cold panic ran through their veins. The crows flying pass in the sky – seemingly nowhere near the explosion – disintegrated into nothingness.

"RUN!" Neji shouted, "EVERYONE IN FRONT OF ME!"

No one hesitated in following Neji's order as they all broke out into another run – their adrenaline and pure desperation to live keeping them moving. Neji's Byakugan took noted as the chakra cloud got closer and closer.

Their current speed simply wasn't fast enough.

"Chouji! Ino! You need to move faster!" Neji barked at them, sweating profusely due to all the running and constant use of his Byakugan.

"Come on Chouji!" Ino told her teammate in encouragement as she pressed a green glowing chakra hand on his back.

"Ino!" Chouji chastised his teammate for wasting energy on him.

Ino gave him a weak smile before turning her head in surprise as she felt a familiar glow of chakra run through her.

Sakura smiled next to Ino, as she used her own chakra to heal Ino and help her run faster – just like the blonde was doing for Chouji. Ino gave Sakura an annoyed look before quickly turning it into a soft smile.

With renewed energy, the three sped up – allowing Neji to do the same.

The Hyuuga checked the chakra cloud again and cursed under his breath, " _We're not fast enough!_ " Neji turned his eyes back towards the group. He could see the sweat pouring down their faces, the way their chakra pulsed and constricted – telling him that even Lee was having a hard time. Neji gritted his teeth, " _I can only imagine how much pain Lee is in after opening so many gates…_ " Neji turned his gaze back to where Shikamaru and Naruto once were, " _Ino was right! We should have followed them!_ " Neji closed his eyes in anger, " _Dammit!_ "

Neji opened his eyes back up and let out a calm breath, "It's no use – "

Neji didn't get to finish his sentence as tall, silver haired figure passed by them at an incredible rate. Neji's eyes widened as he turned to yell, "NO! Kakashi–!"

"Kamui!" Kakashi shouted with his Mangekyou Sharingan spinning rapidly.

Neji skidded to a halt in pure amazement as he watched the massive chakra cloud got sucked into seemingly nothing - like a blackhole. Neji stared blankly, " _What is this madness?!_ "

Tenten and Lee turned to see Neji halt in his step and skidded to a halt as well. Even if the threat was still emanate, they weren't going to leave Neji behind – no matter what. Ino turned to Sakura and Chouji before yelling out, "Why are you guys stopping?!"

Sakura skidded to a halt too before yelling at Ino and Chouji, "It's Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura quickly ran over to her sensei before pausing just behind him.

Kakashi felt a massive strain on his Sharingan as he sucked all the microscopic bombs - the 'chakra cloud' - into his eye's time/space ninjutsu. Sweat poured down the side of Kakashi's face until he snapped his eye shut and he fell to the ground on one knee.

Sakura was at his side in a second, healing him with some of the last bit of her chakra, as he panted heavily. Turning slightly towards her, Kakashi gave his student a one eyed smile.

Sakura gave her sensei a relieved look before drawling out, "You're late."

Kakashi chuckled lowly before responding with a tight voice, "You see, this cursed fish crossed my path, so I had to take the long way…"

"Don't you mean black cat?" Chouji asked with a confused tone as he walked up with Ino at his side, "That's the superstition right?"

Sakura rolled her eyes before shaking her head at her sensei.

Kakashi smile slightly before shifting his eye around, "Where's Kanoko and Shikamaru?"

Neji turned towards where he last saw them, "They, along with Naruto, disappeared over there."

"Disappeared?" Kakashi asked with a strange tone before looking at the Naruto clone, "What do you mean? I take it that's Naruto's clone then?"

Neji nodded before explaining, "One minute they were there in my vision and the next it was like they were wiped away…" Neji paused to look over where the chakra cloud was, "Just like you did to that Akatsuki's attack."

Kakashi frowned, "That's not possible."

"It kind of is." A coarse voice spoke.

Everyone turned to the Naruto clone.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "You want to explain Naruto?"

The clone shrugged, "I don't understand it all, but the best I can say is that Shikamaru combined the time/space jutsu that Kanoko uses with his own shadow jutsu make a…" Naruto looked up in thought for a second before mumbling, "A pocket in space? I think…"

Kakashi gave the Naruto clone a surprised look before sighing tiredly, "I don't like the sound of that…" Kakashi sighed again before getting up slowly and tossing a kunai swiftly at the clone, making him pop, " _I have a feeling Team 10's going to be down a member when Kanoko finds out too…_ "

"Hey!" Sakura yelled at her sensei, "That was our only lead on Naruto, Shikamaru and Kanoko! What'd you do that for?!"

Kakashi laughed lightly at his student while backing up slowly away from Sakura's pulsing fist, "Something tells me Shikamaru has already figured the real benefit of the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

The group gave him a curious look before Neji's head snapped around, "They're back!"

Everyone was quick follow Neji as he sped in the direction of the magically disappearing and appearing trio.

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.

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* * *

.

Red eyes snapped open before quickly fading into a dull onyx color.

Itachi placed a hand on his knee for support as he panted heavily while drop of sweat traveled down the side of his face and fell to the stone cave floor below. " _There's no mistaking it… If I wasn't convinced before, there is no doubt in my mind now._ " Itachi thought as he stared blankly at the bits of sand beneath his feet, " _The amount of chakra I was forced to pour into that genjutsu to begin with, not to mention the additional amount it took to sustain it as he fought against it…_ " The elder Uchiha slowly brought his shaking hand to his forehead to wipe some of the sweat from his face, " _If that had gone on for another minute…_ "

Black eyes snapped up.

" _Already so close…_ " Itachi thought as the memory from one of his clones came back to him.

"I am impressed by how quickly you've discovered my location…" Itachi spoke in the darkness of the cave as the shadow of a familiar figure stretched across the cavern walls.

"…little brother."

Sasuke paused briefly to stare dully and emotionless into the darkness of the cave before taking small steps forward. The moonlight reflected off the dark tan walls, but stopped a few feet in – leaving the rest of the cave in complete darkness.

"Itachi." The younger Uchiha responded with a deep, venomous tone.

Two torches became inflamed – lightening up the space with a deep orange glow.

Red met red.

Itachi paused at the three tomoe Sharingan of his brother's.

"Tell me Sasuke… How much can you see with those eyes?"

Sasuke's eyes hardened as he took slow steps forward, "How much can I see? Right now… I'm seeing you dead at my feet!"

Itachi closed his eyes and tilted his head back, "You see me dead, do you? Well…" Itachi tilted his head back down to stare blankly at Sasuke as the air thickened. In an instant, Itachi appeared next to Sasuke, "Then go on. Make it happen."

The sound of metal clanking echoed loudly in the deep cave as Sasuke ripped off his sword and attempted to slice through his older brother. Itachi quickly met him with a simple kunai – blocking Sasuke's attempt. Itachi twisted his arm around and struck forward with another kunai – aiming straight for Sasuke's crimson eye. Sasuke elbowed Itachi's arm and brought his sword up to block – the two blades hitting with another loud clang before shaking against each other.

Itachi wasted no time in swiftly gripping Sasuke's elbow and forearm – holding the younger Uchiha in place – before bringing his leg up for an uppercut. Sasuke lifted his foot to block Itachi's knee and proceeded to use it to backflip away – breaking Itachi's hold on him.

Itachi's eyes zeroed in on Sasuke's flip before reaching out and grabbing him by the back of his gray jounin vest. Pushing chakra through his body, Itachi pulled Sasuke towards him and smashing his body into the ground.

"Gah!" Sasuke coughed out before quickly making hand seals. Sasuke's left hand started to glow as lightning crackled around it – the sounds of bird chirping echoing through the cave, "Chidori Current!"

Several currents of lightning cracked through the air, forcing Itachi to jump back. Itachi stared blandly at the several bolts of lightning before snapping his head around.

Red met red again.

Sasuke grinned widely in victory as he skewered Itachi through the chest with his Thunder Spirit Blade.

Itachi coughed up blood as he stared down at the lightning blade, "You have… gotten stronger."

Sasuke ignored him as his red eyes narrowed, "Listen to me." Sasuke prevised as a warning, "I have two final questions for you. Only then, will I let you die."

Itachi slowly lifted his arm – the action taking the rest of his energy – before pointing two of his fingers at Sasuke, and then slowly turning them to point to his left.

Sasuke turned his head.

Over by the torches, just a few feet away, without a scratch or even drop of sweat, stood Uchiha Itachi.

Sasuke turned back to the Itachi he held with his blade and grumbled slightly as the image turned into one of crows, " _A genjutsu._ " Sasuke told himself before repeating the words out loud, "Your favorite genjutsu farce… is that how we're starting this?"

"What do you want to know?" Itachi asked, ignoring Sasuke's statement, "It won't be the last thing, but I'll hear what you have to say."

Sasuke's red eyes sharpened as he spoke in a dark tone, "Let me try this again."

Itachi's eyes widened as the Thunder Spirit Blade was once again rammed through his chest from behind. Blood spat out of his mouth in surprise. Itachi's eyes focused on the form of Sasuke in front of him before realization hit as 'Sasuke' turned into a flock of hawks.

"Genjutsu…" Itachi spoke, " _Using my own trick against me._ "

"I don't like repeating myself." Sasuke growled out before he twisted the lightning sword in Itachi's chest – making more blood spurt out, "And don't you dare lie to me!"

Itachi chuckled humorlessly, "You deliberately avoided a vital spot." Itachi smirked slightly, "Tell me Sasuke, what is it that you think I know?"

"What did you do to Nara Kanoko?" Sasuke growled out, "It looks like the Tsukuyomi, but it's different. Tell me what you did!"

Itachi chuckled lowly, "Out of everything, that is your question?" Itachi's tone hardened, "You've become weak."

Sasuke twisted the blade again, his knuckles turning white as he harshly gripped his sword, "The pain won't stop until I kill you and I won't kill you until you answer my questions!"

Itachi hummed lowly, "There are many things about these eyes… about the Sharingan that you can't even imagine. Hidden abilities… bending the laws of reality… The Tsukuyomi that my eyes gifted me is one of different levels. The genjutsu I performed on you and Kakashi was just the first level." Itachi smirked, "It wasn't until I forced Izumi to experience a whole life in the matter of a millionth of a second with these eyes that I realized that I was simply scratching the surface of my power."

Sasuke felt his body go rigid at Itachi's cold statement towards someone that loved him. Sasuke's teeth gritted harshly as the anger boiling in his stomach started to swell again, " _She loved him so much and he just…! All of them!_ "

"I made this Tsukuyomi special." Itachi continued, "I've grown tired of simply killing the things you hold dear." Itachi's smirked grew as more blood spilled over his lips, "I will admit… I took quite a bit of pleasure planning and implementing this one. I can see why you're so infatuated with the Nara. I won't bore you with the details, but the lengths I had to go to trap her… Not to mention how hard she fought back… I've never experienced my victim's chakra defend with such vigor! It was like killing the clan all over again!" Itachi finished with a loud, booming laugh, "The look on her face as her brother's bloody hands choked her to death… the look of pure anguish and betrayal…" Itachi's lips curled up into a wicked smile, "Just like yours that night."

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke roared as he pushed some of his chakra into the sword, making it spark and rip through more of Itachi's flesh.

The older Uchiha coughed out in pain before smirking again and speaking low, "There's nothing you can do for her now."

"Why…" Sasuke hissed out, "Why her and not…"

"Not your teammates? Your sensei? Any of your other friends?" Itachi supplied with a hum, "I've been watching you… the two of you for some time. When news spread of a kunoichi that could use the same space/time jutsu as the Fourth Hokage, I became curious. I was surprised to see she was one of your friends. I certainly didn't recall Nara Kanoko to be anything but an awkward clan heir with no remarkable attributes. I became even more fascinated as the two of you started to play house." Itachi's eyes hardened as he growled, "The clan, the clan, the clan… the two of you sounded just like those fools. It disgusted me. I became bored with your small minds."

Itachi stared blankly ahead, "The Akatsuki saw her as a threat though, so I waited until she was out on a mission without you. I… _removed_ her client so we could have a private chat."

"What?" Sasuke asked slowly, his mind racing with questions before growling, "You're lying! Kanoko would have told me if she had run into you!"

Itachi smirked, "Still so naïve." Itachi tilted his head slightly back and closed his eyes, "You honestly believe that she is on your side? Naras are known to be fiercely loyal to the village. She will always choose them over you, especially over your precious _**clan**_."

Itachi was greeted with silence, making the elder Uchiha smirk, "I questioned her intentions: From her purpose for being to her efforts with the Uchiha. I was surprised in her responses. Kaa-san and Tou-san would have liked her for you, for the _**clan**_ especially."

"Don't you say their names!" Sasuke growled out loudly, "You lost that right when you sliced their throats."

Itachi just chuckled in response before continuing in a dark tone, "But I knew then, that she had to… be removed." Itachi's tone deepened, "You should be thanking me Sasuke… she was making you weak."

Sasuke twisted the sword in Itachi's chest again, "I think the current circumstances would prove otherwise."

Itachi smirked again, "Each of us lives, dependent and bond by our individual knowledge and our awareness. All that is what we call reality. However, both knowledge and awareness are equivocal. One's reality might be another's illusion. We all live inside our own fantasies."

"Just what are you trying to say?" Sasuke growled out.

"That thinking Nara Kanoko is your friend is merely an arbitrary assumption that you made." Itachi cold tone thickened, "In the same way that you once thought me your kind and gentle older brother."

Sasuke's mind involuntarily flashed back to moments in his childhood. Moments with Itachi… laughing… playing… smiling… feeling loved… feeling protected…

 _ **I have acted like the older brother you desired for one reason: To discover how powerful you were.**_

Itachi's words that night, the night he lost everything, echoed in Sasuke's head.

" _I wanted to believe, so badly, that everything that happened that night… the blood, the bodies… friends I would never see again, people that I never got to know, family… that I would never get another moment with…_ " Sasuke's hands started to shake slightly as all the emotions started flooding back in, " _My older brother… the man that could do no wrong, that was the strongest, the smartest, the kindest… someone I looked up to and loved more than anything else…_ "

"I wanted to believe it was all a genjutsu." Sasuke spoke low with a venomous tone, "I wanted so badly for it all to be a dream." Sasuke activated the lightning blue chakra in his hand – the screeching sound of a thousand birds chirping almost making his ears bleed – before roaring out, "BUT THERE WAS NO MISTAKING IT! I WAS TRAPPED IN REALITY!"

Sasuke pushed out the lightning chakra in his hand – shooting it out like a spear behind him and ripping open a sizable hole in the cave.

Right next to Itachi's face – missing his cheek by a hair.

The Itachi Sasuke had skewered with a sword blended into the darkness – revealing it to be another genjutsu.

"My eyes are not the same as they once were." Sasuke spoke in an emotionless tone as he stood up straight to stare blankly at his older brother – the three tomoe in his eyes spinning against the red, "My Sharingan can see through your genjutsu."

"Hm." Itachi sounded out, "You speak with such confidence, as you always do." Itachi's Sharingan moved from the spear of lightning cracking next to him over to Sasuke's form, "I suppose I'll take you on your word... _for now_."

"I'm done playing along with your parlor trick games." Sasuke told Itachi with an annoyed tone.

"After all…" Itachi continued as if Sasuke hadn't spoken, "Confidence is fine, but Sasuke… it appears you still do not possess the same eyes as I do."

Sasuke's red eyes narrowed.

Itachi slowly closed his eyes, "You are not ready to face me."

Sasuke's teeth gritted as he gripped his sword and ran forward, "I'm not done with you yet!"

Itachi's form dispersed into a large flock of black crows just as Sasuke's blade hit. The younger Uchiha quickly twisted his head around – his Sharingan eyes searching for where Itachi escaped to.

Sasuke stilled when he heard Itachi's emotionless voice echo through the cave, "Once you have killed that which is most precious to you and gained the eyes that I possess… only then will I face you."

.

.

.

Sasuke cursed lowly with a scowl on his face.

.

Before it turned into a smirk.

Walking slowly towards the entrance of the cave - as if he had all the time in the world - Sasuke stopped to lean against the cave wall just before exiting.

.

Standing in the center of the entrance of the cave – in the shadow of the cave so that only those inside the cave could see him – was his elder brother.

Itachi.

.

Sasuke crossed his arms as his smirk grew, "Welcome to my hell, Itachi."

The elder Uchiha twitched slightly at Sasuke's taunt, but did not turn around. Itachi continued to stare blankly out into the desert night.

The bright moon shined down on the scene below – reflecting off of the several hundreds of Naruto's stretched around the cave as far as the eye could see. Some of them were standing – waiting patiently, if there was such a thing when it concerned Naruto – while others were sitting or doing pushups or hopping in place. Itachi's Sharingan eyes strained at the bright sight as he took in the age and attire of the several clones before him. Most adorned a white cloak with dark blue under garments while some wore a blinding, eye bleeding orange the Akatsuki recalled was the Jinchuriki's favorite outfit.

Itachi's red eye twitched again.

.

And it wouldn't stop.

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

"Thank you for coming Inoichi, Chouza." Yoshino said in an unusually soft tone.

Chouza nodded slowly as he walked through the threshold of the Nara household – sharing a quick, tentative look with Inoichi, "It's not a problem Yoshino. What's…" Chouza paused and looked back at Inoichi, hoping he would take point.

Inoichi gave his friend an annoyed look before turning to Yoshino, "Our wives said it was urgent."

Yoshino nodded and guided them into the main area of the Nara home, "It started just before Shikamaru and Kanoko left for their mission. Shikaku and Kanoko had gotten into some kind of fight and weren't speaking with one another. My blundering husband does things all the time that irritates my dear darling, but she normally forgives him pretty quickly – which was my first warning something wasn't right." Yoshino continued to walk them through the house as she spoke, "When Kanoko and Shikamaru left I immediately cornered Shikaku to ask him what was going on, but he completely rebuffed me! Me! His WIFE!"

Inoichi and Chouza looked at each other nervously before swiftly turning back to an animated Yoshino, "Says 'It's between Kanoko and I' – as if she's not my daughter!" Yoshino twisted her body around and smacked a hand on her hip and used the other to point at them, "Let me tell you, he can have the house, he can have the money, _**hell**_ , he can kick me out of the village if the bastard thinks he's brave enough, but Kanoko is **my daughter**!"

Inoichi and Chouza watched wide eyed as Yoshino brought her hands together like she was strangling something – probably her husband – before deflating with a heavy sigh. Yoshino let her deep brown eyes drop as she spoke with a defeated tone, "But she's his daughter too. And she means everything to him – both she and Shikamaru do, as they do to me. I've just…" Yoshino sighed again, "I thought the worst was behind us…"

Inoichi quickly caught onto what Yoshino was saying, "Are you saying this is about…?" Inoichi didn't really want to finish the sentence – taking personal responsibility for what one of his clan members has caused to his best friend's family.

Yoshino shook her head, "No – at least I don't think." Yoshino shook her head again, "I just meant… Shikaku's not acting like himself." Yoshino paused to whisper quietly, "And neither is Kanoko…"

Inoichi nodded and pressed gently, "Then why did you call us here tonight Yoshino? I know you, we both do, and you would have just waited until the morning to get us all together to have a sit down with Shikaku - goodness knows it wouldn't be the first with any of us, after all the crazy, heart attack inducing things our children get into."

Yoshino nodded and let out a deep breath and turned her head towards her husband's study, "Yesterday evening I was putting away clean laundry when I heard several large bangs coming from Kanoko's room. I immediately called out for Shikaku – I didn't know where he was and I wanted him nearby in case I was about to get into a fight with a burglar. I heard a familiar grunt and quickly opened the door to Kanoko's room." Yoshino shook her head in disbelief, "What greets me is Shikaku, bleeding all over my recently cleaned floor, holding a strange blue sized scroll, with the tell-tale signs of the aftermath of several **activated** trap seals!"

The Nara monarch started waving her hands in the air, "I don't even want to think about how my daughter is going to slowly and viciously murder her father when she gets back! The _**idiot**_!" Yoshino turns to Inoichi, "Can you imagine what Ino would do to you if **you** were found holding her diary?!"

Inoichi shivered at the thought. He had been teaching his daughter everything he knew since day one and at the rate she was picking up the Yamanaka techniques...

She could do some serious damage.

Yoshino nodded at Inoichi, "Exactly my point! Granted I don't know if that **was** Kanoko's diary, but I don't know what else a teenage girl hides behind so many complex seals that even Shikaku comes out bleeding trying to avoid them all!" Yoshino threw her hands up into the air, "Then he pushes past me – doesn't even acknowledge me – and goes straight for this office! The place is an absolute disaster in there! I've tried _**several**_ times to get him to come out or even acknowledge me, but he's completely absorbed in whatever is in that scroll!"

Inoichi turned to Chouza, who was giving him a serious look, before turning back to Yoshino, "We'll see what we can do, but you know how stubborn Shikaku can be."

Yoshino nodded solemnly, "I understand. I was just hoping…" Yoshino trailed off to look back at the office doors leading to her husband with a look of longing.

Chouza and Inoichi nodded before telling her it might be best for her to leave the house for the day – just in case things got heated. Yoshino agreed before grabbing a bag and making her way out the door of her house.

Inoichi turned to Chouza and let out a deep breath, "I started last time."

Chouza huffed at Inoichi before shaking his head and placing his hand on the door to Shikaku office and sliding it open. Inoichi and Chouza scanned the room first. Yoshino wasn't exaggerating – it was a mess. There were books and scrolls scattered around the room – some open, some closed, and some hanging off of things. Drips of blank ink and the deep burgundy of dried blood showed a trail going from the door, to the bookcase, to the desk, back to the bookcase – and so on and so forth. Finally, their eyes rested on the figure hunched over his desk.

Rolled out carefully before him was a medium sized scroll – likely the scroll Yoshino was talking about earlier. The scroll looked like it was almost at its end and was draped gently over one end of his desk. Next to the scroll were several books and numerous pieces of paper – all full of black ink and scribbles. Those same papers were also scattered around Shikaku's desk – some crumpled, some ripped to shreds.

After taking in the whole picture, Inoichi whispered to Chouza, "I've only ever seen something like this at the cryptology department – which is the only department Ibiki refuses to go into, by the way."

Chouza couldn't help but wish he had taken lead with Yoshino – Inoichi clearly got the better end of the deal on this one. Sighing lightly, Chouza spoke tentatively, "Shikaku…"

Silence and the sounds of pen hitting back answered him back.

Chouza groaned internally before trying again, "It's me and Inoichi. We were hoping that you could come with us… you know, go get some drinks and barbeque – the usual. Just us guys…"

Inoichi shot Chouza a look before mouthing 'Really? Barbeque?' to which Chouza responded with 'why don't you try, mister know-it-all!'.

Inoichi and Chouza took part in an annoyed glare contest before their attention was pulled away.

"That can't be it…" Shikaku mumbled as he rubbed his goatee with his injured hand before turning his head back to one of his papers and looking it over, "There has to be more…"

Inoichi and Chouza turned from Shikaku back to each other to have another mental argument. After another minute, Inoichi let out an annoyed grunt – to which Chouza smirked triumphantly. Clearing his throat, Inoichi just went for the jugular, "Ok, I'm just going to throw it out there! Shikaku, put your daughter's diary down and join us for drinks or I'll haul your ass into T&I for a Yamanaka special! You're scaring the crap out of us!"

Chouza let out a long groan, "Seriously? That's better?"

Inoichi opened his mouth to respond when Shikaku's coarse voice cut him off.

"It's not a diary." Shikaku mumbled low as he picked up the scroll to look at it again, "Not in the traditional sense."

"It's still your daughter's." Chouza started, "Come on Shikaku, I don't know what's going on, but she's going to be really upset and hurt when she finds out what you did. At least put it down so we can talk about this."

Shikaku stilled for a second at Chouza's words before sighing tiredly and resting his head on his hand and drawling out, "You're right, but I don't regret what I did. Not now, not after reading this."

Inoichi felt a growing headache and tried another route, "Both my daughter and my wife are going to kill me for this, but Shikaku… what does it say that has you acting like this?"

"It's not just what it says, but how it says it." Shikaku responded in an aloof tone before picking up a book without looking and tossed it at the pair. Inoichi quickly caught it and turned it over, "The basics of elemental chakras..." Inoichi mumbled the title out loud, "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Turn it over." Shikaku grunted out.

Inoichi started reading the print on the back, "Transcribed word for word from the Village Hidden in the Leaves' Second Hokage's, Senju Tobirama, scroll for the village's ninja academy. The Second Hokage believed strongly in not only equal and early education for all those within the safety of the Leaf Village, but also in forming bonds outside the walls of one's own clan – strengthening the Village Hidden in the Leaves to the title of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages – " Inoichi cut himself off to address Shikaku, "I honestly don't know where you're going with this."

Shikaku smirked cockily as he turned his head towards his two confused friends, "That book – well scroll at the time – was Konoha's first key for our coded messages. Everyone in the cryptology department is told the story. The Second Hokage purposely sold his academy scrolls to enemy villages so that our spies could easily use it to receive and send coded messages without anyone thinking it was anything other than a standard scroll on chakra natures."

Inoichi nodded in understanding before speaking, "So it's a key…" Inoichi's eyes focused on the scribbles on the paper and the medium blue scroll on Shikaku's lap, "So you're daughter coded her– are we sure it's not a diary? I'm only asking for my own safety here."

Shikaku nodded as he rolled his eyes and grunted out, "Yes, it's not a diary. I'll get there, just stay with me here."

Chouza sighed but nodded, "So she coded the scroll. Why is that important? Other than pointing out the fact that she really didn't want anyone to know what was in it."

"Because…" Shikaku started with an almost giddy tone, "She did it using **that book**."

Inoichi crossed his arms and pushed some books off of one of the chairs to sit down – something told him he would be here for a while – and asked, "She's **your** daughter. She's probably just as obsessed with cryptography as you are. Sometimes I'm still surprised you left the cryptology department to become the Jounin Commander – even if you do go by there every once and awhile to help out."

Shikaku shook his head, "You don't understand. The cryptology department stopped using this key when the Third took office. It was never discovered by enemy villages and only the field operatives at the time and the cryptology department knew about it. When the key was retired, it was classified as an S-ranked secret, in case they ever decided to deploy it again, but they never did. Only those retired or currently serving in the cryptology department even know about it."

"Yay to knowing another thing I have to remember to take to my grave…" Inoichi spoke sarcastically.

Chouza chuckled at his friend's despair before turning back to Shikaku with a serious look, "You don't think it's just coincidence? She is kind of obsessed with all things relating to the Second Hokage. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a life size cutout of him in her room…"

Shikaku smirked, "That's not all."

Inoichi groaned loudly, "Of course not…"

Shikaku picked up the scroll and motioned them to look at it, "Look. See this here?" Shikaku said, pointing to one of the characters on the page, "This was written with different ink. It was hard to tell at first – the two inks are practically the same – but if you hold it up to the light, the light reflects off of it differently." Shikaku's proud smirk widened, "Its sealing ink."

Inoichi leaned forward and spoke in a curious tone, "That doesn't look like your typical fuinjutsu markings… It's just standard characters. Did you try activating it?"

Shikaku gave Inoichi another cocky smirk, "Ahh, such an amateur."

Inoichi's eye twitched dangerously as Chouza laughed heartily in the background.

Shikaku grinned at his friend in letting him know that he was just jesting with him before explaining, "It's a trick move – a trap, to be specific." Shikaku grin grew, "Honestly, I probably would have fallen for it too, if it wasn't for the fact that I've seen Kanoko create hundreds of seals. She's meticulous and particular – and if I've learned anything from her and Minato it's that with sealing, you have to be. At least when it comes to the complicated ones."

Chouza nodded, "What happens when you activate it?"

Shikaku looked up at his other best friend, "Best guess? Burns the whole thing to ashes." Shikaku turned back to the scroll, "I had to go back to her room and steal a couple explosive tags to confirm it, but I'm ninety-five percent sure that's what it does."

Inoichi was quick to cut in at this point, "I just want to recap. You broke into your daughter's room – "

"It's not breaking and entering when you own the house." Shikaku supplied.

Inoichi continued as if not interrupted, "Went through her things and found a part of her room covered in barrier seals – "

"I _happened_ to be in her room when I saw something that looked like it might have seals on it. I was checking it out to make sure it wasn't dangerous."

"Broke through the seals – causing bodily harm and scaring the shit out of your wife – "

"Again, out of fatherly concern and Yoshino's been through worse. She just selectively forgets all the times Kanoko's nearly given us heart attacks."

"Took out the scroll sealed inside – likely a diary – and then proceeded to trapped yourself in your office – "

"Not a diary."

"Only to learn that the whole thing was coded with a key only used in the Second Hokage's era – "

"That part's true, I'll give you that."

"And if that wasn't enough, it's booby trapped to go off if someone activates the seal inside it."

Shikaku paused, making sure his friend was done, before nodding in agreement at his assessment of the situation.

Inoichi gave Shikaku a bewildered look before turning to Chouza, "They're all insane, even by Yamanaka standards. You take over."

Chouza sighed heavily and turned to Shikaku, "I guess the question is now… You said there has to be more – when we came in, that's what you said – what did you mean by that?"

Shikaku's proud and happy looked dropped as he slowly turned his half lidded eyes back to the scroll and spoke solemnly, "It isn't a diary, but it is a documentary of certain events and several unsubstantiated theories."

Inoichi threw his hands in the air, "That's the definition of a diary!" The Yamanaka groaned loudly as he smacked his face into his hands, "I hope our children are ready to take over the clans because we're dead when the women find out!"

Chouza let out a light sigh and placed his hand on Inoichi's shoulder before giving him a soft smile, "Let's hear Shikaku out. We're dying anyways, right?" Chouza added with a small laugh.

Inoichi sighed as he looked up at his friend and groaned, "Just hurry up Shikaku. I need to get my affairs in order before my wife and daughter start discussing whether they're going to bury or cremate me."

Shikaku let out a small chuckle before turning his tired eyes back to the scroll, "The whole scroll is split into three parts. That's why it took some time going through it – taking out the fact that I had to decode each character. Some parts are almost complete, while other parts have large gaps with several lines crossed out."

Shikaku frowned as he looked up at his longtime friends and trusted teammates, "The first part is unsurprising. It has to do with my father, our clans, and the other clans in Konoha. It starts with an event that occurred when Kanoko was very young – something I was not pleased to read – and stretches out to a meeting that occurred between them not even a month ago." Shikaku's voice dipped into a dark tone, "I knew that Kanoko was being targeted, but to hear that he succeeded in sinking his teeth into my son – even for the briefest of moments…" Shikaku's chakra flickered dangerously before closing his eyes and willing his muscles to relax.

The pair watched Shikaku with concerned eyes as he started speaking again, "She talks about some clan members she believes are loyal to him and his goals – including their specialties and combat levels. She also has other clan members listed – main and branch house Hyuuga, high ranking Sarutobi, Inuzuka, one Aburame, and quite a few…" Shikaku paused to give his friends an apologetic look, "Quite a few Yamanaka and Akimichi clan elders." Shikaku closed his eyes, "The _**threat**_ of two of the three of our clans being headed by women has them quick to side with my father's goals."

Inoichi cursed his clan elders under his breath before spitting out, "I'm not surprised. I've been getting nothing but resistance from them and every time I go on a mission, I come back to a new 'possible marriage candidate' for my daughter – as if she's allowed to even think about getting married!"

Chouza chuckled lightly at Inoichi's overprotectiveness before turning back to Shikaku with an apologetic look of his own, "I… didn't want to bring it up until I knew it I could no longer control the situation. I was hoping your daughter would show them how powerful a female clan head can be."

Shikaku nodded, "I was hoping the same for my own clan, but I always knew my father would be an obstacle." Shikaku sighed heavily as he rubbed his forehead, "I spent so much time worrying about the threats from beyond our walls… And here I thought Danzo was my biggest concern."

Shikaku sighed again, "Which bring me to part two: Shimura Danzo."

Chouza and Inoichi stiffened at the name.

Shikaku nodded to them, "I sealed the room the moment you two walked in. Another thing I borrowed from my lovely daughter, so I'm confident in its abilities."

Inoichi shook his head, "She's going to murder you, but continue…"

Shikaku nodded, "Most of it I was already aware of and some parts are actually incorrect. The basis of the theory is sound, but she's mistaken some of the facts." Shikaku stroked his goatee as he looked down at his scroll, "Her character assessment of Danzo is spot on, but she rarely mentions ever speaking with him. She must have a contact on the inside feeding her information about him…" Shikaku winced slightly in preparation of what he was about to say next, "And uh, Inoichi? I just want to start this by saying if I had **any idea** of what Kanoko was up to, I would have never, **ever** let either of them out of my sight."

Inoichi froze. The Yamanaka slowly opened his mouth – his mind already supplying all the information to know what Shikaku was saying, "Please… please tell me you are saying what I think you're saying…"

Shikaku nodded solemnly, "I'm going to have you do a mind walk of my daughter after every mission from now on because apparently she wasn't being completely honest about the mission in Grass Country. She had a run in with the Akatsuki's own Uchiha Itachi." Shikaku looked back at the scroll, "She's making leaps and assumptions based on facts she hasn't detailed here, but talks about the interaction and how it leads her to believe Itachi fears her."

"Woah, woah!" Chouza called out, " **Uchiha Itachi** fearing **Kanoko**?!" Chouza shook his head, "You're daughter's a lot of things Shikaku, but Uchiha Itachi level is not one of them."

Shikaku nodded, "That's why I said she's making leaps in judgement that I can't follow. Every other theory has facts and details to backup her claims, but this is the one that falls short of any sort of explanation. The best I have gathered from her notes is that he's not afraid for himself, but of what she could do to his little brother, Uchiha Sasuke."

Inoichi sighed heavily before locking eyes with Shikaku, "Let's get back to the part that concerns **my** daughter, please."

Shikaku nodded, "After her run in with Itachi, Kanoko started an investigation into the Uchiha massacre. She notes in here that, for a tragedy, many of the records are classified as S-ranked secrets. She states, and I'm quoting here, 'for what purpose would a Hokage choose to classify a lowly baker's autopsy as village-security related, when the attacker's identity is not only known, but well known – clearly more than one attacker was present, which makes more sense when you take into consideration that the victim clan is the **Uchiha** – one of the **world's** most deadly clans'." Shikaku's eyes read over the text again as he spoke, "She goes on to say that either an enemy Hidden Village is responsible or the attack can be, in some way, tied back to the office of the Hokage."

Shikaku hums lowly before speaking again, "She actually makes another leap here that I can't follow. I've analyzed the code several times over, but all I can get is that based on prior knowledge she has of Danzo leads her to suspect he is the key to the truth."

"Which leads your daughter to convince my daughter to…" Inoichi started, hoping Shikaku wasn't going to finish the sentence in the way he suspected.

Shikaku nodded with an apologetic look, "To worm her way into the outer ranks of Danzo's _Foundation_."

Inoichi slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair, "Dammit Shikaku!"

Chouza placed his hand back on Inoichi's shoulder in comfort – knowing words would not help right now.

Shikaku nodded, "She hasn't breached too far in the organization yet. We can still safely pull her from the situation as soon as the two of them get back from their mission."

Inoichi ran his hand across the lower half of his face – too hurt and worried to speak without whatever he says coming out as an attack.

"It was at this part…" Shikaku started with a quiet voice, "That I realized why Kanoko was so mad at me before leaving for the Sand. And how…" Shikaku's eyes dropped to the floor, "How I've let her down."

Chouza looked up from Inoichi's struggling form to Shikaku, "What do you mean?"

Shikaku continued to stare at the ground as he spoke, "Ino made contact with a shinobi that was, for lack of a better word, without emotion, without feeling – nothing but a shell. He's their age. After learning of his background – that he was an orphan under Konoha's protection before being forced into the village's own dark army – she started digging into the records of orphans disappearing going all the way back to when we were children. The records were hit and miss, but many of them had similar elements – children with dead shinobi parents or possessed some sort of special ability. She expanded her search to missing civilian children – the pool of possible victims was less, but still troubling – and then she expanded it further to clan children."

Shikaku looked up at Chouza, "She added that to the information she already gathered from Shino and Torune about Danzo and…" Shikaku let out a heavy sigh, "We're talking nearly a hundred children over the span of forty years – victims to Danzo's vicious recruitment methods."

Shikaku leaned back in his chair and stared blankly up at the ceiling, "We must protect our future. We can only do that by protecting our values, our morals, our ethics. By sacrificing a single child's life – claiming it is for the greater good – is to sacrifice them all; to sacrifice our future. And here we are, having sacrificed a hundred – that we know of."

Chouza and Inoichi stared at Shikaku in pure shock. Inoichi was the first to speak, "That's… that's not possible… we would have… we would have known… we would have stopped it! The Hokage –!"

"We all knew." Shikaku told them, "We just deluded our minds into thinking it was just one or two, that we were at war and war demands too much, that we had no choice, that it was necessary…" Shikaku slammed his fist on his desk as he hissed out, "I understand now, why she didn't come to me with this, with my father… why she didn't come to any of us, why she trusted her peers instead with things they were too young to take on, on their own!"

Shikaku let out a shaky breath, " _ **Those children are the best this village has to offer and I'm not going to let any of you allow them to die, just so you don't have to get your own hands dirty**_ – that's what she told me before they left. She wasn't talking about the mission like I thought she was, she was talking about _**this**_."

The room grew quiet as the three men were left with their thoughts.

After several long minutes, Chouza spoke quietly, "Do I dare ask what the last part is?"

Shikaku was silent for a moment before sighing and leaning back in his chair, "That's what I was referring to when you two first stepped into my office. The last part talks about the Akatsuki."

Inoichi pulled himself from his thoughts to add to the conversation, "That makes sense why there's 'not more'. After all, we don't have much as it stands."

Shikaku nodded, "Honestly, after reading everything else, I was shocked at how much more intelligence we have about the Akatsuki than her." Shikaku chuckled without humor, "The fruits of our labor from focusing all our efforts outside our gates."

"Some prize." Inoichi spoke in a dark tone.

Silence took over the room again.

After several moments, Inoichi looked up and motioned to the scroll, "She's never going to trust you again if she learns what you did – going through her things and reading through it all."

Shikaku leaned back in his chair and looked up at his ceiling. The Nara stared tiredly at it before drawling, "Probably."

.

.

"But I'm done compromising on my morals, just because it easy."

.

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

.

Shikamaru collapsed as the he let down his Shadow Void jutsu.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto called out in a slight panic as he carefully set Kanoko down to hop over to Shikamaru's panting form. Naruto's blue eyes quickly gazed over his friend and gulped back worry as he watched the etches of black bleeding into Shikamaru's face and hands retreat slowly back into his clothes.

"Come on Shikamaru…" Naruto spoke quietly as the Nara twitched painfully as shockwaves of yin chakra ripped through him.

This was what happened last time and why Jiraiya strictly forbade Shikamaru from using it again, until he or Kanoko could refine the fuinjutsu seal for him.

"Naruto! Shikamaru!"

Naruto's head snapped up as he watched his comrades approach. His face quickly lightened up, "Sakura-chan! Bushy brow! You guys made it!" Naruto grinned, "I knew you would!"

Sakura smiled lightly back before turning to Kakashi-sensei, who was trailing behind, "It's a good thing Kakashi-sensei showed up when he did."

Naruto blinked before grinning up at his sensei, "Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi chuckled tiredly – the massive use of Kamui still having a severe impact on him – before looking from Naruto to the Nara twins.

Naruto caught his sensei's gaze – as did Sakura, who was already using her chakra to analyze Shikamaru – before turning to the pair and speaking, "I don't know if duckbutt found the bastard that got Kanoko, but she hasn't moved an inch." Naruto's frown deepened at the thought before turning his gaze towards Shikamaru, "And Shikamaru…"

"It's just chakra exhaustion." Sakura supplied quickly, making everyone breath out in relief, "He should be coming to in just a second…"

"Uggg…" Shikamaru groaned as he tried to swat away Sakura's hand, "Leave me alone… I want to sleep…" Shikamaru mumbled out.

Kakashi chuckled slightly before nodding at Sakura. The pinkette grinned evilly before leaning down and whispering something in the Nara's ear.

Shikamaru sat up in an instant – eyes sharp and wide – before focusing on the scene in front of him. Shikamaru eyed everyone staring at him with a mixed of worried and curious gazes. Turning to where the voice had come from, Shikamaru glared at Sakura, "That wasn't even remotely funny."

Sakura giggled, "Ino wasn't lying when she said you have one of the worst sister complexes our village has ever seen."

Shikamaru opened his mouth but was cut off by his female teammate who squealed, "Ooo! What did you say?! I want to know!"

"Me too! Me too!" Tenten laugh out.

Shikamaru glared at all of them as they laughed at his misery before turning to Kakashi, "Any word on the other teams?"

Kakashi shook his head, "I sent a shadow clone towards the tower. It's unknown if the Kazekage and his team are still there, but I will know more once my clone reports in."

Shikamaru nodded, "I sent Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba and Shizune to make contact with the possible Akatsuki member that took out Kanoko." Shikamaru frowned as he turned towards her, "Can your Sharingan tell us anything?"

"Where is Gai-sensei?" Lee cut in. He had mixed feelings. On one end, Gai-sensei was the strongest person he knew, but that didn't lessen the worry he felt for his sensei.

Kakashi sighed before smiling lightly, "He'll be joining us soon, I bet. You know Gai. It'll take more than one of these guys to take him down."

Lee grinned widely and nodded confidently in agreement while Tenten and Neji let out a breath of relief.

Kakashi turned his attention from Team Gai over to his limp student – crouching down to her form. With a light hiss of pain, Kakashi moved up his headband and activated his Sharingan. His eye took a moment to analyzed her before he closed it. Looking over to Shikamaru, he spoke, "It looks like whatever genjutsu she was effected with is gone. If it was any regular genjutsu, she would have woken up by now..." Kakashi took a deep breath before turning to Sakura, "Has Lady Tsunade taught you about healing severe genjutsu attacks?"

Sakura frowned, "I know the basics, but we've been focusing more on physical injuries and field surgeries..."

Kakashi nodded solemnly before speaking, "Then we're going to need to get her to the Hokage then."

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Kakashi turned to the group and sighed, "Kanoko won't be waking up until we do."

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Shikamaru turned his sharp eyes towards the horizon - where the collapsed demon desert tower lay - and spoke in a deep, serious tone, "Then we only have one option left."

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"To get the Kazekage to safety for her."

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* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

So this chapter was 50% done three weeks ago, then the holiday hit and I realized I was broke and needed to work a ton of overtime if I was going to afford Christmas this year (or kill off a few friends – either option), then I caught the flu going around…

Also, 40% of this chapter was written while I was very much drugged up from several fever reducing medications.

 _ **HUGE thank you to FreelanceBum**_ for working on my mess of a chapter while suffering from food poisoning himself!

Thank you all again for the MASSIVE support! I couldn't do this without you guys!


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